Sketches from May

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For those who need more convincing you can read the first 16 pages for free, just a click away.

Channel Evil #1 - Anytime Now!

Got my comps of the first issue. Always a nervous sharp intake of breath/slight puckering of a-hole, when you open a comic you've drawn, you're never too sure how it's gonna look; mebbe the printer had a long liquid lunch that day, pressed the wrong buttons and it printed backwards/upside down/inside out.

But, i think it's looking pretty good. I'm a proud father. Chuffed. Excuse me if i don't have enuff cigars to go around.

Now, all you've gotta do is BUY IT!

Fine fella and my boss, Alexander Finbow, tells me it's out in the UK from tomorrow(next week at the latest). For some reason that only Dotty Diamond Distributors know, American readers won't see it until June 3rd. It you have problems finding it, bug your comic store-like-hell, or buy direct from Berserker. Hope it hits the spot.

Another unlettered page for a taster.

Zombie Tales #12

Final cover i did for the final issue. Though, last i heard, BOOM! are planning to do a mini-series or a bumper-sized one-off in the near future, same for Cthulhu Tales, but don't quote me.

SexGoreMutants - Interview

Just got back from a far too short trip to Paris. Realised, in my usual suitcase-packing, 'list-of-things-to-remember' runaround haze that I'd forgot to mention an interview i did for SexGoreMutants.

Dim bulb i is.

SexGoreMutants is one of my favourite places to visit for horror/grindhouse/exploitation movie reviews/news, and often guides my bloodshot eyes to the more delirious and deranged DVD delights that my bad brain craves.

It was conducted by Alan Simpson, monster-mad site master, nice bloke and bloody black belt gorehound.

If you can put up with me 'going on' at some length, mostly about art and movies, please click. There's also an as-ever-entertaining chinwag with Channel Evil writer Alan Grant.


Plenty of pictures for those with a short attention span.

From the Vault - Zool(1994)

Some say they that art was all they ever wanted to do. They were called to it. Pursuing their dream with teeth-gritted determination and fiery passion - but I never set out to make drawing my career path. If i had a 'secret origin', I'd say it happened by accident.

 

There was a time at junior school I was convinced I'd end up working for Disney or Hana Barbera, I thought it'd be easy to do. I was very naïve to the painfully laborious process involved, I thought you'd just draw a few pretty pictures then some machine 'filled in' the rest (which has sorta come true). Didn't know anything about hand-painting cells and the thousands of drawings involved, I just loved cartoons, and wanted to make them 'when I grew up'.

 

Don't get me wrong, I always loved comics, started to read them around the age of 4, and started to draw my own not long after. But i just did them for fun and to pass time at the back of maths class. Then i started to grow pubic hairs and notice girls and lost ALL interest in a career or planning my future. I just wanted to muck around with my mates and Debbie Everard.

 

Then i wanted to be Joe Strummer or Captain Sensible, that didn't happen. Then i wanted to be Sam Raimi or Luci Fulci, that didn't happen. Was left rather disenchanted.  Felt lost and unfocused and needed some creative outlet, some way to get stuff outta my head.

...and I just started drawing again. It really gave me a powerful buzz! So much so I went and enrolled at art school

 

Which, other than meeting a coupla like-minded souls who became good friends, wasn't time well spent. Eventually, almost as a reaction to the bitter blinkered poseurs who attempted to teach me how to draw - and what to draw - i walked away from college and set up as a 'freelance artist'. Didn't know what the fuck i was doing, but it felt the right choice. And certainly preferable to getting a 9 to 5 'proper job'.

 

Then fate/uncanny good timing landed me the dream-gig of drawing Mr. X for Vortex Comics. It all happened very fast. Waaay too fast! And because of reckless stuff i was doing in my personal life - it ended just as fast. From then on my career stalled and spluttered, and often left me unemployed without a penny to rub.

Early 90's was the lowest, lowest point. I was so close to packing it all in but then along came Zool - The Alien Ninja from The Nth Dimension.

Boxtree publishing had the rights to produce a series of illustrated book adventures featuring Zool, an early video game rival to Mario. Somewhere I'd bumped into Ian Edginton (writer of Scarlet Traces and Stickleback) who dug what i did with Mr.X. We shook hands, talked old comics, and weeks/months later he called asking if i wanted to team-up on the first Zool.

I was busy moving house at the time, having a relationship meltdown, and finishing up a bunch of samples/pitches. Chaos! But hungry for a good break - i leaped at the chance!

It was mostly a nightmare: tight deadlines, working all hours, waiting for a book that sometimes arrived in chapters or a few paragraphs at a time, re-writes, re-thinks, re-draws, frequent squabbles, and an editor who thought he could write it better - which he could not.

 

...and getting all money owed took over 4 months of letters and phone calls, and finally an actual threat to turn up at the office with violent intent (they paid two days later). Friction with the writers and leaving an editor cowering under his desk helped lose me the follow up gig, which added new misery and disillusionment.

But, looking at it now, with less jaded eyes, I'm really glad i did it. It's a fun book, set me some new challenges and helped develop/fine tune a new, more 'cartoony' style, prepping me for Rock and Roll High School a few months later.

Here's the choice cuts...

 

From The Tomb - Needs your Vote!

On the end of the phone or boozing at conventions, I often end up in the middle of that conversation, the one about the lack of choice/not enough variety in the comic shops. When i have, it always concludes the same; 'if you don't buy the 'alternative', you'll end up without one'.

And right now, Diamond Distribution are having a good go at removing the 'alternative'. They've recently raised the purchase order benchmark for comics and magazines from $1500 to $2500, which effectively means they want the smaller publishers to sell more books or raise the cover price(this in the middle of a recession). There's a few exceptions, and they're willing to consider a period of probation in certain cases, but basically if they don't reach that benchmark, they don't get in Previews and don't get distribution.

I'm not naive, i understand a business has to adapt to survive, and it's no surprise that Diamond are about making money, not encouraging or supporting artistic expression. But along with it comes a massive power shift, because, technically, they're vetting the small sellers, measuring their worth - they're deciding what YOU read. Well, at the very least deciding what you'll see on the shelves.

You're gonna get less choice than ever, cus the small press guys are sinking fast, some already sunk, and you're also gonna get less publishers willing to spend the time putting out a new book if there's no way to distribute.

What to do? It's really very simple, you gotta vote with your money. No point crying after another book/magazine is cancelled. If all you see is the same crap on offer, that's partly your own fault. And if your solution to solving the problem of an over-polluted wall of superhero comics is just not buying any comics, then that's no solution, that's a cop-out.

I know print isn't cheap, but maybe you just buy a coupla pints less one Saturday night, maybe buy less Marvel or DC crossover epic tie-in spin-offs, maybe you don't have that bucket of chicken or maybe walk to town instead of drive. Spend a few quid on something new, just the once, see if it presses your buttons. Cus if you don't, fuckers like Diamond, will choke all the life outta the medium.

That brings me to From The Tomb.

Peter Normanton has quietly toiled away, in his dungeon, for 10 years or so on 27 issues of this glorious, gaudy, gory, blood-stained love letter to the lurid delights of horror comics. I was gutted to hear of it's cancellation, then elated to find it had dodged the hangman's noose. But doesn't mean it'll be easy for Peter to keep on going, not without some support, not without subscriptions. I'm constantly bemused by friends who profess a passionate interest in the horror genre, but don't buy the mag.

With a strong bias for the more gratuitous pre-code horrors, beautiful full colour inserts reproducing covers and pages from rare and obscure horror comics, interviews, checklists, review sections, new and old comic strips, and a EC-MC tongue in cheek wit and relish, you should have NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER! Really. Come on! In fact you should feel a little ashamed. Get you cheque book out, or bug your spotty-faced till-boy at Forbidden Planet to order it in. GO ON!!

Lux Interior RIP

Lux Interior, the ferocious frontman of garage punk/psychobilly band, The Cramps, died on February 4th, as a result of an existing heart condition. When i heard the sad news i wanted to pay tribute, but at the time i was far too busy wrestling deadlines(still am, but they're not the vice-like intensity kind).

A lot of you may never of heard Lux sing/perform, and I'm quite sure a lot of you wouldn't want to, but i loved the guy, and the band. They were a vivid and pivotal part of my youth; with their sexy, sleazy, growling, howling surf sound, mixed with b-movie trash aesthetics and shclock horror lyrics, it seemed like some mad scientist had sewn them together for my personal pleasure. And Lux, Lux was like some amphetamine-crazed voodoo preacher crossed with a rubber clad Elvis from Planet X, truly magnetic and deliciously, monstrously deranged.

And he looked great in stilettos.

I only ever had one opportunity to see The Cramps, and i blew it. Not got many regrets, but that's a biggy. But you can see the midnight man at work over at; http://www.thedailyswarm.com/headlines/cramps-lux-interior-rip/

I raise a blood-filled goblet to you, Lux - give em hell!

The Eternal Warrior by Paul Grist

A few days ago by chance/accident, i discovered that Paul Grist, writer, artist and creator of the wonderful Jack Staff, has quietly set up a blog. A blog purely to showcase - page by page - a new work in progress; The Eternal Warrior.

Yes! - FREE comics from Paul Grist. You don't have to part with a penny/cent, there's no catch. FREE comics from Paul Grist.

Free.

Paul Grist.

Comics.

So, if you're going cold turkey waiting for the next issue of Jack Staff, or never heard of the ridiculously talented Mr.Grist, then drop everything and hurry your arse over to; http://www.bigcosmiccomic.blogspot.com/

Channel Evil - Preview Pages

The first issue of Channel Evil is about to be released across the land. Should be in comic stores next week, well, if your comic store has ordered copies. It's not an easy sell; a new book from an Indy publisher, in black and white, without any superheroes or vigilantes, even with Alan Grant writing. But I'm optimistic that enough readers will spread the word.

 

Artists aren't really supposed to blow their own trumpet (last time i tried i put my back out) but i feel comfortable in saying that this is the most pleased I've EVER felt about my art. It's the closest I've got to realising the 'look' i have in my head, still not exact, but not far off.

Wasn't easy, I suffered a plague of technical gremlins, crippling doubts and an OCD mania. So bad i was close to jacking comics in for good.

 

It was mostly due to my obsessive quest for the 'right line' and the 'right shape'. I don't do all that photo-realistic stuff, or lots of flashy feathering and crosshatching, and my art might look simplistic to many. But i spend a LOT of time planning a page, before and during drawing. It's very measured and carefully constructed. Choosing what to leave out is equally as straining as all that detailed realism or complex penwork. It is to me, anyway.

 

With Channel Evil I'm trying to stew it all down even more, trying to draw comics that have an immediate effect on the senses, art that adds more depth to the story, in a style that 'bends' the form to maximum effect - with the most minimum of fuss.

 

I'm not gonna win any new fans with this series, cus i don't do comics how most comics are done, my 'cartoony' art alienates as many as it attracts. But I'm fine with that, doing 'house style' or pandering to fads and trends is something i gave up with acne and bondage trousers.

I'll shut up now, let you look at some pictures.

Crazy Comics!

This April 1st, Fools' Day, see's kids humour mag, TOXIC#137 giving away a free 16-page comic supplement, with 8 brand spanking new strips/characters, and one from the 1970's dusty IPC vaults, cleaned up and reworked.

The idea is for readers to vote online for their favourite, and the winner returns , potentially, as an ongoing feature in the regular TOXIC. The revamp strip, is Werewilf, a character that made his debut in Whoopee!, March, 1976, and disappeared not long after.

Me and my old mate, sometimes comic strip-scribe, ex-viking-gone-to-seed and bass-thumping rock god, Paul Birch, decided the great pun-ish name should not go to waste. So we gave Wilf a modern polish, but soaked him in an unashamed rose-tinted bubble bath of nostalgia. Something that captures the feel and look of comics we grew up with, and a Britain that's terraced houses, allotments, garden sheds, bangers and mash, fat women-in-curlers and grandads in nice suits.

Along with co-scripting, I'd planned to draw the two pager, but my commitment to Channel Evil meant we had to find a replacement, and we chose the more-than-capable John Erasmus, an artist that had mostly left comics to pursue film making and storyboarding, but Werewilf shows he's definitely not lost his touch - all panels HAND-COLOURED with marker pens - take note photoshop fiends!

There's some other smart stuff in their, two by my Zombie Tales artist partner and good egg, Paul Harrison Davies. Read more about Crazy Comics full content at; http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2009/03/crazy-comics-is-coming.html

Below is my character sketches for Wilf and a coupla panels from the strip. Obviously, I'm biased, i want you to vote for Werewilf, if just so we can see more of John's gorgeous cartooning, and more can be found at; http://johnerasmus.com/

Satanic Rites

A Chris Lee pic i did for Little Shoppe of Horrors #22, which spotlights the 70's set Hammer Dracula movies. A very groovy issue, have a viddy over at; http://www.littleshoppeofhorrors.com/

A Whistle for the Deep

Cthulhu Tales #12 IS the final issue. Seems not enuff comic readers enjoy anthology books, and most comic shops don't/won't give em the space, cus DC and Marvel bring in the BIG numbers, and your average comic shop manager couldn't give a toss about the indy guys who don't.

But the final issue is cause for celebration, behind a variant cover my moi, there's a 10 page strip i wrote last year, drawn by the criminally ignored/unknown Dave Hitchcock. It's called A Whistle for the Deep, and in contrast to the strip i wrote for Zombie Tales #7, this is me doing it straight, serious hat on and all, and I'm pretty chuffed with it.

It's beautifully, hauntingly drawn, and hopefully, this tale of a monstrous heritage and a boys dark destiny will leave you a little spooked. It's on the shelves, in any comic shop that offers choice and variety(good luck with that one!). Please go and buy it.

Meanwhile, marvel at Dave' s latest stuff at http://davehitchcock.blogspot.com/

Below is the first page, unlettered and uncensored.

Boom! were concerned that too much bare lady was on show since the book was not labelled 'mature readers'. And it just might end up a target of the stateside overzealous loony 'moral majority'. Mostly these are concerned parents who usually don't blink a righteous eyelid at copious comic book bloodletting and gratuitous punching and shooting. But they exclaim horror at the sight of two consenting adults making/about to make love, since this just might drive young readers to underage sex, rape, general debauchery, and a reckless abandonment of wholesome American family values.

A bible in one hand and a gun in the other, they take this shit seriously; they boycott, and threaten, and they get people arrested for selling 'obscene' material to minors. That's partly why the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund was set up, which you should support; http://www.cbldf.org/ .

So, not wanting to be awkward and provocative, we covered up the rude bits. No matter, not like it's damaged the integrity of the story. And it's a gorgeous page, either way.

PS; the letterer buggered up on the third page, the caption 'three weeks later', should be in the second panel, NOT panel one.. Makes a BIG difference.

Jez and the lads

Shots from Channel Evil #1. More art, along with some words from me, at http://www.renegadeartsentertainment.com/

Complete pages posted soon.




Got your order in yet?

GASP!

Nothing but tumbleweeds on this ere blog...

On the final leg of inking up Channel Evil #1, and also on my last legs; eternally laid up, tired, undernourished, muttering in tongues, screaming at blank sheets of paper, drooling, hallucinating, giving it up, not giving it up, loving drawing, hating drawing. Am i coming? Am i going? Not sure. But I've put every ounce of what I've got into this book, and I'm hoping it will show.

Not surprisingly, I've got problems with my new A3 scanner, so no full pages until i get some decent photocopy reductions, and anyway, I'm not even supposed to be sitting ere fannying around - i have NO SPARE TIME!