Dead Men and Snake Woman

Three illustrations done for Little Shoppe of Horrors #23, spotlighting John Gilling's Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile, two of Hammer's finest.

The issue includes the usual intensive research, in-depth interviews, movie posters, rare stills/photographs, and plenty of artwork from, among others; top bloke and top talent Neil Vokes, Ade Salmon, and the Mighty Bruce Timm.

From From The Tomb For Free

Back in April 2009 i tried to convince the unconverted to spend some of their hard-earned cash on Peter Normanton's ' glorious, gaudy, gory, blood-stained love letter to the lurid delights of horror comics'.

Didn't seem to make much difference, since orders are still low and Peter is still struggling.

I won't rant, i won't preach(haven't the time or energy), just go and have a look at a FREE preview of #28 and visit the official Blog run by that dastardly Dweller of the Dark, one Decapitated Dan Royer.

Love horror comics ? - show Pete some of that love.

The Finished Line

The best line in my studio, is the one made from string, pinned from wobbly bookshelf-to-bookshelf.

Rather than have the completed pages of art on my rubbish tip floor or in overstuffed folders, i like to peg them up. It's a quick and easy way to scan and grab, and stops me bending my poor back so much.

But most of all, it's a massive morale booster walking into the room and seeing 22 pages of FINISHED art looking back at ya.

Channel Evil #2 is done and gone and in the hands of letterer Jamie Grant.

Praise the lord! And pass me the whisky...

The Nightmare World of Joshua Hoffine

Creepy, haunting, beautifully staged and lit, Joshua Hoffine visualizes childhood fears and the darker side of fairy tales.

He also loves his horror movies.

...this guy started out as a wedding photographer.

More Strays from 2009

Crematoria - Screaming from the Grave!

About a 1000 years ago i was chinwagging and brainstorming with that Wizard of Words, affable Alan Moore. Things were still sweet at DC/Wildstorm, and his ABC line of comics were winning rave reviews and adoring accolades.

Alan was planning a second wave of characters for the anthology, Tomorrow Stories. One of these to be written for little awe-draped me, it was/is called Limbo, best described as a supernatural beatnik superhero comedy, like Dr. Strange done by Charles Addams, or the Spectre via Shiver and Shake. A strip that dwelled in all the best corners of my skull.

... shrouded in fluorescent fog, bats flapping around cemeteries, werewolves on Harleys, mad doctors, witches, spooks, zombies, and a love interest in the form of pneumatic horror hostess Crematoria, more or less Lily Munster and Vampira, with an eye patch.

We didn't get further than half-a-pitch(but never say never), since i found myself drawing Albion. The idea was, well, filed away in limbo.

Until...connoisewer of dark dames and raven-haired succubi, one Mr. Brad 'Indio' Tuttle, cast his yellowed beady eyes on the curves of Crematoria.

And she's sweet as a De Sade fever dream. Go look, i dare you.

And remember, kids. Limbo is copyrighted by Alan
Moore and Shane Oakley. No cribbing.

Stray warm-up sketches from 2009

The Mustek Blues

Gathering dust on our landing is a Mustek A3 USB 600 Pro-Scanner. Purchased to save me from the tedious and frustrating task of stitching pages together on a very awkward A4 scanner.

I've had it for over a year and in that time it's mostly refused to work and crashed or frozen the PC. I installed and re-installed it dozens of times(on occasion it scanned once or twice, then gave up), I've removed other programs, switched off security(Spyware, McAfee, etc), doubled the memory, visited many forums, talked to it nicely, made blood sacrifice to the gods, and then, like the Mustek, i gave up.

So, it's there, 10 feet away under the smokey gaze of Marlene Dietrich, opposite a cobwebbed exercise bike. Doing nothing.

I really need an A3 scanner that works(especially for the next project after Channel Evil), so I'm probably gonna have to pay some black belt IT wizard to come have a look. But before i reluctantly reach for the Yellow Pages, i wanted to ask if anyone reading has had the same problem and solved it?

Any help gratefully received.

Some inked panels - and a Happy New Year!!

Work is going well.

It's snowing and cold outside but I'm feeling sunny.

HO!HO!AARGHHHHHHHH!!

Well, i never did get Channel Evil #2 finished by the end of November, and looks like i won't be getting there before the new year arrives.

I tried, damn it i tried, but little seems to be going right in my world.

Won't go on at great length about illness and low morale and the general day-to-day frustration/despair, but i obviously feel shit about letting everyone down, most especially my ever-patient editor Alexander Finbow.

I have problems, and I realise I've got to get myself in a fit shape, not just physically but mentally. Some of these problems are deep-set and have been with me for many, many years, don't think I've ever really addressed them or taken them seriously enough. Agen, too complex to go into, and too personal.

I love storytelling, i love taking things outta my head and seeing them come alive on paper, and it's what i want to do for the rest of my life. And if it wasn't for the love and support of my friends, parents and guiding light Suzanne, i would've crumbled to dust a long time ago.

Thankyou all.

See you in 2010, where you'll be meeting a new, much improved Shane Oakley.

Hope you have a splendid Xmas.

The Killer Smile

Most of 2008 i was working for BOOM! drawing the walking dead and many tentacled slithering Lovecraftian things.

Sadly, both Zombie Tales and Cthulhu Tales were cancelled(not my fault!)but a new 4-issue horror anthology arose from the ashes. I was invited to do a full set of variant covers, but only found the time for two since i was due to start on Channel Evil.

Not that all the deadline panic was necessary, since the comic never came out, and according to my 'source' at BOOM!, it's highly unlikely it's turning up next year either.

So, just in case i get run over by a No:7 bus, or aliens invade, or the world ends early to piss off the Mayans, i thought i should let one lurch out of the vault.

A Monster-mutant clown with a hook, what's not to love?

Pencil and Inks from Channel Evil #2

Sketches from September and October; ladies, dames, gals and one robot

Channel Evil # 2 - Still alive and working up to a kick

Putting down the ink, going slowly but surely. Aiming to have the whole issue done this month. Will post more soon. Hope I've still got your interest.