Hi-Ex! 2008 & 09 – The Sketches

Hi-Ex! is Scotland's only Comic Convention and for the last two years its been held at Eden Court in Inverness. Both times I've prepared sketches, sketchbooks and art before the event.

To read my report from Hi-Ex! 1 in 2008 click here.

To read my report from Hi-Ex! 2 in 2009 click here.

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70 Years - Gnashional Menace Day

The 2nd of August 2008 see's the 70th Birthday of the Beano and marking the Gnashional Menace Day where children up and down the country will be sponsored to behave in the worst possible behaviour in honor of Dennis and Gnasher to raise funds for CLIC Sargent.

To take part check out the website and buy the bumper sized Beano on sale 30th July 2008 which comes with a free Gnashional Menace Day kit.

Down the Tubes website plans to feature the thoughts and pictures of Beano fans young and old to mark the day and posted below is my contribution. I'm only half the age of the Beano but it never fails to make me feel like a kid again.

What does the Beano mean to me? My first thoughts are jealousy. I have an older brother, only three years older but that age difference meant there was a pecking order to the weekly supply of comics. My brother was supplied the Beano every week from my Mothers purse and I was rewarded with the Dandy. Of course we read both of the comics but the Beano was read by my brother first. So what? I had the Dandy to read first plenty to enjoy in those pages, but you always want what you can't (initially) get. I like Dennis the Menace and (gnash gnash) Gnasher, okay I enjoyed Desperate Dan but I wanted to read Dennis and he was right there on the cover of the Beano up to no good and all I got was Korky the Cat probably helping someone with a problem.

Then we had the pleasure of the postal orders sent on our Birthdays to join our favourite clubs. The Desperate Dan club was not what I had hoped for, putting cut out cardboard cow horns into a cow (scotch) pie did not make me any less jealous of my Brother's fuzzy edged, rolling eyes (gnash gnash) Gnasher badge. I wanted that badge, I liked Dennis the Menace and (gnash gnash) Gnasher. Again with the jealousy.

Aside from the jealousy though reading the Beano is a lot like expecting to breathe especially if your born and raised in Scotland. It was always around, everybody read it just like everybody read Oor Wullie and The Broons and you knew the whole gang in Beanotown. Apart from Dennis and his canine sidekick I have to add The Three Bears, Roger the Dodger and the cheeky scamps from Bash Street as my particular favourites.

I forget how much it cost my Mother to buy us the Beano and the Dandy each week, it was probably about 6p a comic. Today I buy the 99p Beano and read it to my three year old Son. When his Brother is older I'll buy the Dandy but make them alternate who reads which one first, that's modern parenting for you.

Happy Birthday Beano!

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Hi-Ex! 2008 – The Sketches

On the 2nd & 3rd of February 2008 I attended the Hi-Ex! Comic Expo in Inverness, Scotland. In preparation for this convention I produced twenty sketches and a booklet for sale which I posted as I created them on this Blog. This 'Gallery' shows them all together. To read my report from the show click here.

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