Highly strung

The strip i did with Steve Niles will be in Cthulhu Tales #2, out around the end of May. Grab your red crayon and scribble it on the calender.


It's called The Hiding Place, and I'm not really spoiling anything by showing you the opening page - it gets a LOT nastier than just a good choking.

I'm a sucker for tentacles

I know. Looooooooooooooooooooooooong time, no blog. For weeks, i haven't had a spare moment to post anything, and when i did, my pals Tiscali and BT saw to it that i couldn't, but mostly I've bin mad bastard busy.

One of the projects that had me chained to the drooling board was an 8-page strip, written by Steve Niles. It's for a future issue of Cthulhu Tales, an ongoing monthly anthology inspired by the works and worlds of H.P. Lovecraft - and it's a real corker; a full-page hanging, multiple murders, mutilation, black magic, and, yes, lots of slime and tentacles.


It was a thrill to do, cept the colouring; not just cus it was the first time I've coloured a complete strip, but cus of the ridiculous, almost farcical, near endless list of technical problems i dealt with , day after maddening day.


I cannot begin to list the horrors, but let's say i nearly took a hammer to my computer AND my skull, that i bungee jumped into the abyss, that i nearly threw in the towel. Let's say that Steve cursed the script to test me; and undernourished, teeth-clenched, whisky-soaked and half mad with sleep-deprived delirium, i passed my trial by fire/got thru my initiation. And now I'm a better man.


Although it was a complete nightmare to finish and deliver(thank you for your patience, Mr.Waid - you are a gent!)I'm really chuffed with it, and gotta say it's the best short story I've ever worked on. Ticked all the boxes, pressed all my buttons. And if you have a pulse, i'm sure it'll do something similiar for you.


Can't show too much of the finished strip, but ere's a few panels...

Don't know which issue it's gonna be in, soon as i do, I'll let you know.

Pre-production sketches

Can't really post any pics from the stuff i'm working on right now; instead i'd like to share some pre-production sketches from last year. It's for a cracking story/idea by the multi-talented Mark Wheatley(go check out EZ Street at http://www.comicmix.com/title/ez-street/) and a project i'm hoping to get back to, very soon.

Even though these(and many more)were done real quick, without fuss or much finesse, i really got into the 'unfinished' look.

House sale!

Some art I'm selling; three pages from The Fall of the House of Usher, at £55 each, which includes p&p and a signed print.

Page 12

Page 13
Page 16

 

The Curse, £35

A little bit of Oakley across your chest

Presenting the first t-shirt drawn by yers gruelly(confidently modelled by veterinarian Olaf Skullsplitter), especially designed for all those who love Zombie-based apparel, or have macabre tastes in general. And i know the picture is difficult to make out, that's cus it GLOWS IN THE DARK!!! You can also get it on stickers, and, believe it or don't - on a set of dice!

Later this year, for all those who have no affection for things-that-glow, or anything that makes referance to the eating of students, there's gonna be a version with just the art - no text, no glowing.

Go on over to http://www.kingzombie.com/ and spend money on some cool stuff.

Waaaugh!

Didn't set out to make my blog an obituary, i planned to post some art yesterday, but i found out that Steve Gerber had died on Sunday, February 10th, aged 60. But i couldn't put stuff into words, i was genuinely, sincerely, too upset. And considering i never knew the man personally, or even met him, i was struck with how much the news choked me up.

Then i looked at some of his works; Man-Thing, The Defenders and Howard The Duck, and then i understood.

I grew up with him.

The 70's, for me, was the golden age of Marvel Comics; i read em by the wheelbarrow full. Back then, they really were 'The House of Ideas' - offering some of the best art, best writers and an intoxicating and eclectic choice of titles; with the superheroes we had horror anthologies, westerns, sci-fi, sword and sorcery, kung fu, giant monsters, humour, adaptions of classic novels and movies...and Howard The Duck.

Steve Gerber had me hooked instantly, same with his run on Defenders; he didn't just write great characters - he wrote great PEOPLE(and Ducks). And his stories/plots/ideas were like nothing you'd ever read before; subversive, surreal, anarchic, creepy, weird, satirical, funny, personal, poignant; always turning your expectations around, and comic book conventions inside out.

His comics are probably some of my all time favorites, i know I'd put Howard in my Top 5, and I'd put Steve Gerber, next to Alan Moore, Will Eisner and Archie Goodwin, as among the finest, boldest, most heartfelt writers the comics industry has EVER seen.

A very small roll call indeed.

Thanks for the trip, Steve.

Goodbye, Roy Scheider

Sad start to the day; hearing of the death, at 75, of actor Roy Scheider, best remembered for his outstanding performance as Chief Martin Brody in Jaws.

Always enjoyed watching him on the screen, and I'd sit thru anything with his name attached(and, yeah, i even liked Blue Thunder), he had something 'old Hollywood' about him; like Bogart, Kirk Douglas or George C. Scott. A real rough charm and sturdy screen presence.

And like a real trooper he was working up until his death, and the killer shark aside, he's got a long list of films on his CV, and I'd highly recommend you catch him in Last Embrace and All That Jazz, cus he was a LOT more than just 'that guy in Jaws', a lot more.

Dig Me Later, Vampira

Only found out a few days ago that Maila Nurmi died on January 10. Although she had a long career in modelling and acting, Maila will always be best remembered as Vampira - America's first horror hostess - and iconic 'undead girl' in Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Along with Morticia Addams, her pale skin and tight black dress inspired the look of a zillion goths.

Find out more at; http://www.cultsirens.com/vampira/vampira.htm

...and a picture in tribute, RIP Vampira.

Draw more comics(and tidy up)

Like a lot of you, come the arrival of a new year, I've sat down, thunked hard, made a list of resolutions, then proudly let them rip in a volley of verve and determination.

And like a lot of you, i give 'em up on January 2nd.

I even failed in a resolution to NEVER make any resolutions, so this time I'm keeping it realistic; I'm not gonna try and learn to play the piano(i CAN actually do the theme from Jaws), or build a Victorian folly at the bottom of the garden, or A-Z my comic book collection, or go the gym, or got to bed early, or read more books, or drink less whisky.

All i aim to do, promise to do, swear to do - is DRAW more comic strips. Did a lot of drawing in 2007, but not near enuff drawings in little boxes that tell a story. So far it's looking good - in less than 3 weeks - I've secured a coupla tasty comic strip gigs, and there's promise of more to come.

I'll share the details, soon.

Other than that, i VOW to sort out the piles of crap/junk/stuff that fills every inch of our home. We don't have room to swing a cat(or in our case, a very small dog), or more importantly, the room for any new crap/junk/stuff...

First to go; a shitload of VHS tapes, but some of the cover art I'm keeping.

This is why...

Nothing much, but at least they're new...

Nothing much, but at least they're new...

Out with the old, erm, in with the old...

Almost a week-and-half into 2008 and i have absolutely NOTHING new to offer, so ere's a few sketches/doodles from last year...

The Thing is...

Last pic of 2007. Inspired by an umpteenth viewing of John Carpenter's The Thing.

NO agonizing with this one...it's 'ordinary' stuff that's hard to draw.


Speak to you in 2008 - cheers!

Seasons Screechings!!

For near FOUR days we've bin unable to get online.

Tiscali..crap..sigh...etc.

Belated best to you and yers.

Words AND pictures

In the interest of artistic integrity, journalistic accuracy and filling space, I'd like to address and amend my last post, for the record; curse or no gypsy curse, i HAVE bin plagued with ill health and misfortune, most of the misfortune resulting from ill health, and some ill health resulting from misfortune.

I've only bin dumped once, which I'm eternally grateful for(but at the time i felt like a puddle of piss ).

My career IS always stalling or taking a nosedive, due to some 'ill health and misfortune', but mostly down to my ever-growing disillusionment with an ever-increasingly shoddy industry; dumb and dull PlayStation-generation comics, editors who change minds at the last minute, and writers who never keep their word.
And sometimes, there's just better things to do.

My first rented property had a leaky roof AND a leaky ceiling. More the fault of dope-loving cowboy builders than a gypsy curse(though they could've bin related.)

Our boiler has never conked out, good job, since I'm not even sure where it is.

In the last five years the TV has bin replaced once, cus we wanted a bigger one - the screen is a lot easier to hit with a sponge house brick

Yes, broke specs many times, and also dropped a contact lense down the bog.

Burn toast often(that's how the birds like it), good job there's no batteries in the smoke alarm, cus my ears would be bleeding.

Don't miss doctors appointments, just turn up late, or on the wrong day.

There's no such thing as 'buses'.

Yeah, forget a lot of birthdays, but never my own.

Tread in dog shit rarely(even though we have a dog and a garden full of poo-mines) - usually it's cat shit.

Never walked into a lamppost, but I've seen a lamppost walk.

Don' drink red wine, but spilling Ribena is just as bad.

Never burn my hands since years of intense pencil-squeezing have robbed them of feeling...

Editors and writers - see above.

Only crashed the computer once, but we were drunk and well over the speed limit.

And, yes, like the sun going down, and the moon a-rising, Tiscali and Blogger remain forever shite.

Better add some pictures quick...

Son of Droop.

Cousin of Droop.

Sketching a look for two vampire characters, for a comic in progress.

Eight red pegs

Years and years ago it happened; a frail old Gypsy woman knocked at my front door. Normally when I'm at the drawing board i ignore knocks and phone calls(or, in most cases, can't hear over the music), but that day, for some strange, uncharacteristic reason, i stopped what i was doing and answered the door.


Don't know why; it could've bin a double-glazing salesman, or a Jehovah's witness, but maybe i thort it was the Fed Ex man with a box full of complementary comics from across the seas, or an over sized gift from an adoring fan.


Whatever the reason, it's one i will forever regret.


The tiny bent woman, laden with bags and battered shopping trolley, stood looking up at me, with a toothless grin she wished me the best of the day, then tried to sell me a bath sponge.


I nodded a 'no thanks'.


Then she tried to sell me some tea towels, then some biro's, then cotton buds, and...and i kept nodding the no thanks nod. Each nod more forceful than the last, and slowly i started to inch the door shut. She persisted, her hand holding out a bag of eight red pegs, reaching past the door frame and into the 'personal space' of my home. I'd had enough, my patience was gone, i swore under my breath and pushed on the door, nearly trapping her hand.


Just as the door shut i saw her face glaring at me, her left eye yellow and wide, the pupil tiny and black. And that's when it happened, that's the moment. That's when i was cursed.


The gypsy cast a black spell. And i was cursed.
Since that day.

That's why I've suffered ill health and misfortune. That's why girlfriends have dumped me, why my career is always stalling and taking nosedives, why my roof leaked, why my boiler conked out, why I've replaced my TV four times in five years, why i broke my specs, why i always burn the toast and miss doctor's appointments and buses and birthdays. That's why I'm always treading in dog shit, walking into lampposts, spilling red wine on carpets, burning my hands on saucepans. And it's why editors and writers ignore my e-mails, and why the computer crashes, why sometimes i can't get on line and why sometimes i cant FUCKING post pictures on this blog!


'Technical difficulties', that's horseshit, it's the CURSE, it's not Tiscali or Blogger, it's bad magic.
No eight red pegs, no Uggly Monday, no Freaky Friday.

Careful next time there's a knock at YOUR door...

Freaky Friday; Twitch

Freaky Friday; Doug and Lug

This Friday, and every Friday, is Freaky Friday.


Amen.

Doodles

.

Nevermore

Last week - fittingly on Halloween - saw the launch of Nevermore an anthology of Poe adaptions from publishers Self-Made Hero. Among the strips is a 16-page version of The Fall Of The House Of Usher, written by Dan Whitehead, and drawn by me.

Thru most of my life the works of Mr.Poe have long bin a source of inspiration and pleasure, wether it be the original source material, Corman's delirious movies, or the multitude of horror comics born out of his mythos(most notably Tom Sutton's work at Charlton). It's nothing new, adapting Poe in comic strip form; i own two magnificent versions of House Of Usher by Richard Corben and the aforementioned Tom Sutton, so, in my eyes i was up against some tuff competition.

So i tried to do something a little different, pulling out all stops to channel the mood, isolation and madness that's in Poe's story; a fever dream turning to expressionist nightmare. Which also sums up how it felt most of the time i was working on it(along with the inking assist from the lovely Suzanne, who was handsomely rewarded with shoes and fancy cosmetics - but she will deny this.), what with juggling two other jobs and illness. But it was worth it, and i hope Eddy thinks so too.

And if you don't like it, you have a whole bunch more of Nevermore to like instead, including strips by Ian Edginton, D'israeli, Jamie Delano, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Steve Pugh...it's in the shops, and even cheaper from Amazon.co.uk.

Uggly Monday; Olaf(i nearly cried)

Didn't set out to draw Warren Clarke...

The Dead Never Stop

Zombies! Tell me you have appetite for more?

Over at Geoff Boughs goriffic zombie-fixated site; http://www.revenantmagazine.com/ you'll find a mini-gallery of undead art by yers truly. Six in all, three of which are old(but two of them are 'remastered'),tuther three brand spanking new - as much as reanimated corpses can be brand spanking new...

Happy Halloween!

I love October for lots of reasons; those gorgeous autumn skies you get in the late afternoon; the way the air seems to always smell of bonfires; the slow-spin fall of gold and orange leaves - but mostly it's cus the shops are full of plastic skulls, Frankenstein masks and monster bats!



For Halloween i offer a pic of The Shape - better known as Michael Myers. John Carpenters movie blew me away and however many times i see it, I'm always left impressed. And unlike it's imitators,(including the misguided 'white trash' remake)it's a film with genuine mood and tension; with a cast that you care about, and a 'Bogeyman' that is truly frightening.

Have a good un!

Uggly Monday; Crackling Annie

Because it's nearly Halloween...

Happy Birthday to Elsa!

Elsa Lanchester was born October 28th, 1902 - died December, 26th, 1986.

Cock-up on blogging front

Somehow, Ive got my last two posts the wrong way around; so, the final 'Unseen Albion', is BELOW yesterdays post of art for sale. Simple - like me.