Hogmanay!

To finish the year here is that full zombie picture for you. I've just upgraded my Blog site with the new features they have introduced. As usual with these things it means that some company or other (Google in this instance) force you into having a new password and account with them in order to enjoy these new features. Well it just adds to the 100 odd usernames and passwords that you end up having. I'm really going to have to start writing them down somewhere because they just become a blob of passwords in my head and its easy to get it mixed up or forgotten completely. On the plus side I like the new features to Blogger, very simple things they have added but it feels a lot easier to change your Blog site without having to know html coding etc. nice one!

Hogmanay is here and just like last year I'll be in the house watching the TV. Being Scottish its kind of expected that you'll either be having a fantastic drink driven party on the night or the complete opposite and sulking in doors in a Reverend I am Jolly type glum (how many out there know what that means then? hands up if your not Scottish). Well with having 17 month old kid in the house and another kid three months away from being born it stops you from doing either of those options above. Last year (for the first time ever) I was in my bed before the bells at midnight, although still awake and amazingly so as a neighbour had decided to let off fireworks in the garden behind my house. This year I'm determined to stay up and have a dram at the bells as it just doesn't seem right not too. I dunno though as I've been finding it very easy to fall asleep as the night moves on. If I sit and watch TV by 11pm I'm fighting off the sleep. What is it then? Old age (nah), lazy (maybe) but most likely just tired out from looking after Daniel and working. Hmmm, maybe it is lazy and old age after all.

Well whatever you do to see the New Year in enjoy yourself, best wishes to you all.

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Seasons Greetings an that…

Merry Christmas and all that, well its sort of all done now ain't it so its just New Year to go and start all over again. Had a very good and quiet Christmas which was exactly what I needed.

Been drawing some Nazi Zombies over the last month and had originally intended to post the work as I went along but that plan fell on its face. So I've stuck together four different stages of the drawing for you to see. Obviously it reads as a) pencils of the characters, b) background pencilled in, c) inked version and d) coloured version. The picture is for Accent UK's anthology comic due out some time next year (I'll let you know when). Originally I was going to draw a strip for them but I seriously ran out of time and had to settle for one off illustration. My original plan was to draw a very surreal type picture of a zombie standing on a crowded bus at night. None of the fellow occupants of the bus had noticed the zombie and it was all very Shaun of the Dead, the public are zombie's type thing. I had started drawing it when I thought it just seemed too subtle for a one off piece and I really wanted something that shouted "Hey, Zombies!!!!". So easy choice for zombies is Nazi Zombies, hey presto, more in your face!

Happy Zombie New Year to you all…

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Negative Burn issue 6 (AGAIN)

Alright, now I can show off the cover to Negative Brun issue 6 as I just got a nice box of them delivered from the States and it looks great. I've not had a chance to read through the issue yet but a quick look tells me that our story is in great company. The quality of work in the issue really is high and looks like one of the best issues I've seen to date. So this recommendation should send you on your way to buy a copy, sharpish :)

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Gots ta gets ta doin it…

I need to update my whole main website you know. Its been in need of an overhaul for a while but I've just not had the chance to do it. I'm not actually that troubled by the design of it but it needs to sell me as a whole package rather than just 'hey I draw some comic type stuff'. I need it to advertise my day to day employment as well as talking about illustration and the like so I foresee an update very soon. Well next year, very soon that is.

Annoyingly enough I noticed two days ago that parts of my main page where not functioning properly, things like links and animations. God knows how long that has been the case so this morning I went and fixed a few things and also chopped off a couple of items. So its looking a lot smaller and yeah in need of changing. Going to look into doing Flash animations again for the site, I haven't done any in about five years so I'll need to re-learn Flash and Dreamweaver etc. so that'll slow things down.

While I'm here I'd like to point out that in the past I've tried to point you the reader in the direction of great and wonderful comics. Well its not hard to pick out things to buy when its work done by the fantastic Brendan McCarthy anyway. I've mentioned his Solo comic for DC before but also the collected book he printed himself a couple years back called Swimini Purpose. Well if you did take my advice and bought a copy off him you'll be a very happy bunny, cos not only is it a fantastic book but its now worth a fortune. Check out the final price for this copy of the book on Ebay, yowza!!! Just click on the title of this post to go see!

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Spring-heeled Jack Hard Cover Book **BUY BUY BUY**

SHJ_Hardback_Cover, originally uploaded by Graeme Neil Reid.

Following on in the "I'm an idiot" posting, here is something which I took the time to write about for various other Forums and internet websites but through the lack of brain power completely forgot to post on my own website. What an idiot. It is of course David Hitchcock's fantastic Springheeled Jack book. Here's the stuff I wrote for other sites:

SPRING-HEELED JACK SPRINGS INTO GRAPHIC NOVEL

Writer and artist David Hitchcock has released a hardback edition of his Eagle Award winning series Springheeled Jack. The Victorian gothic fantasy series received much high praise from readers and comic professionals in its initial three issue run and this book titled 'Strange Visitor' collects these issues plus the hard to find 'The Last Chapter' previously only available to lucky fans at Bristol's Comic Convention in 2005. The book also showcases many of David's sketches on the series and a tantilising glimpse into the production of the artwork.

Limited to just 500 copies the standard book can be bought for just £10 (including postage and packaging) but as usual with David's comic work he is offering a range of special offers on this new collection. The first 20 orders will receive a fantastic original drawing with the book! Plus for £13 you can order one of eighty copies that will be numbered and signed by David and will include a limited tipped in plate illustration. For orders and availability on the limited editions you can contact David directly by e-mail at black_boar1@yahoo.com or by sending a cheque made payable to David Hitchcock to SHJ, Gunhills Farm, Gunhills Lane, Windley, Derbyshire DE56 2LR.

To see more of David's work check out his website at www.blackboar.co.uk

Also following on from the last post is my insistence that you should put your hands in your pocket and send off money for this book. Getting published by a mainstream publisher is hard enough but self-publishing takes some balls. Think about it, its this guys own money, time and energy that has produced this book, he's taken a huge financial risk and having self published myself I know how big a risk it really is. You do these things for the love of it and you really do not make any money back on the venture, he has to essentially sell every copy of his book to break even. All the independent, small press comic people I know never make any money out of their books they just hope it sells enough to cover costs and allow them to continue. So I cannot ask enough times to help all these fantastic creators to continue to bring out more wonderful stories, buy a book or buy two and give one away at Christmas for your Secret Santa at work or to a friend. Thanks for listening…

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Negative Burn issue 6

Angry Brer Rabbit, originally uploaded by Graeme Neil Reid.

As usual I've let stuff slide that I should be up and jumping around about. I mentioned ages and ages ago that I had a project on the go that I didn't want to talk too much about until I knew it was all going to go ahead. Well that project was an eleven page comic strip called "See a Penny, Pick it Up", written by my good mate Jay Eales. The reason I didn't want to mention it much was that I have talked about comic work before that then takes a lifetime to see print and talking about it at the time seems rather pointless. This time however its been the complete opposite. Having finished the story and sent off JPGs to the editor of Desperado's Negative Burn comic (see previous posts about that title) I was asked to supply the final art within a week and then it was straight off to the printers. And as of last week (I think) it has been in the shops for you to buy. So a slap on my wrists as I've only just got around to talking about it, I've let myself down in the PR department there I'm afraid.

I haven't actually seen a copy of the comic yet, several friends have (including Jay) and they all say it looks great. So I can't even post up a copy of the cover for you to see. Now of course you'll all be wondering how to get a copy and its very easy. You can either go to a comic shop and if they have a copy of Negative Burn issue 6 then buy it, if they don't ask them to order it in for you. Or you can go online and order it from one of the very many online comic shops who will be more than happy to help you. Need a hand? Well try the UKs largest operator Forbidden Planet (http://www.forbidden-planet.co.uk/acatalog/Negative_Burn__6.html)

Unfortunately, most listings for this issue don't actually state that I'm in the issue, but I can assure that I am. The listings for Negative Burn are all taken from the publisher Desperado/Image Comics and where written some time back. Through late deadlines and changes of plans the contents of the comic changed but the listings have not, therefore I or Jay are not listed in the contents for the comic. Its a bit annoying really but hey never mind.

The story itself has been hanging around me for around four years as we had originally started the story for another publisher. It was to be printed in a large over-sized format and the story was only four pages long but with plenty to be seen (and drawn) on each page. I had completed three of those pages when it went very quiet over at the publisher and the book closed without much of a do. Couple of years pass and we decided to re-size the story and add in some story points we had removed for the original comic. The story blossomed to eleven pages and Joe Pruett (the aforementioned editor of Negative Burn) expressed an interest in showing the story. So it was back to drawing the last (as it turned out) five and half pages. Seems to have been around forever mind you but now you can all see it. Please buy it. Please write and say you liked it/hated it whatever you like. Writers and Artists get employed on the fact that they have generated some sort of interest in the comic they working for. Its like X Factor guys, you really need to send in votes for the artists to come back next week.

Well I have a few more things I should tell you about so hopefully I'll be back soon to tell them…

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