"That's Weird!"

My Accent UK comics buddy, Dave West is always working away on something and then has a habit of that 'something' eventually appearing and so it is with this his latest project, intriguingly titled " I before E except after W, that's Weird!" currently funding on kickstarter.

He's been working on and off on this for years, initially - if I recall correctly - as 'The A to Z of Superheroes' with an overseas artist but as he became interested in vintage books an idea developed to use some of those old obscure but fascinating images in some way and armed with scissors, glue and a fevered imagination this unique comics n collage project came to life.

I've only seen a handful of these images over the years but Dave's assured me that he recently completed the whole book, so I'm intrigued to see how it's turned out in it's execution.

The Kickstarter is doing pretty well and close to funding already but if your interest is piqued, please consider backing it as the campaign's pre-order is the best way of securing yourself a copy which may be one of the oddest books Accent UK have ever released.

Dave has included some of the original art pages in the reward tiers and I've already bagged my favourite and as they say, once they're gone they're gone!

Asylum Pencils to Page!

Advance copies of our 'Return To The Asylum' comic had a great reception at this year's wonderful Asylum Festival in Lincoln a couple of weeks ago and there's still time to guarantee yourself a copy in the last couple of days of our kickstarter campaign.

This year, I had promised myself that I would write and draw one of the previous year's kickstarter reward stories and was delighted that it had been backed by the curious chap, Count Rostov, giving me a chance to feature both him and the lovely Lady M :)

A fun madcap adventure soon ensued across six pages, taking in stolen airships, space rockets, a Titanic homage, Morocco and more! For those who like a look 'behind the creative curtain', you're seeing here, one panel from my Heart's Desire tale in it's pencilled, inked, coloured (by the ever wonderful Matt Soffe) and finally the finished lettered stage to let you see the different phases involved in bringing the story to life.

 

 

If you'd like to see more, not just of my fun wee strip but many others all inspired by characters and events encountered at the Asylum Steampunk Festival, you can order a copy at our soon to close Kickstarter campaign by clicking on this link. Thank you for your interest and support.  

The Finished cover by Gary Crutchley & Matt Soffe

Return To The Asylum!

Aha, I'm delighted to confirm that Accent UK's brand new comic; Return To The Asylum will launching this weekend in Lincoln, appropriately at the Asylum Steampunk Festival!

This is a sequel of sorts to last year's Enter The Asylum comic which proved very popular and again features comic strip adventures inspired by and starring the alter-ego steampunk persona's of festival goers, who have co-operated with our creators to produce 6 original comic strip stories plus a bonus short in this new all colour perfect bound issue.

I have two stories, one again illustrated by the talented Anna Francesca Schiraldi, featuring a Licensed Elemental Conservationist (aka 'Faery Catcher') and a seemingly cheese-obsessed Professor!

  
Secondly, I've both written and drawn a story featuring the legendary Count Rostov and Lady M, Asylum festival stalwarts and contributors who enjoyed  their own real-life moment in the spotlight at last year's event, which I was fortunate to witness. I therefore just had to come up with a wee story to explain the resulting 'happy ending'!

If all this sounds of interest and sadly you're not able to attend this weekend's festival, then the comic is currently the subject of a pre-order campaign on kickstarter - check out the link here where you can find out further information on the other stories and creators involved!

RAPTORS WIN!

Wow! Go Raptors Go! NBA Champions for the very first-time in their history!

While I'd be the first to admit to not being a big basketball fan or really following the sport, I can't deny that Dave West and I fell a little in love with the Toronto based team during our visit there for the TCAF, comic art festival last month.

We caught a couple of their regional play-off games against the Philadelphia 76ers including their captivating last second 'basket bounce' victory in a wonderful atmospheric bar where the entertaining bar manager kept us informed of not only what we were witnessing but also their history. It seems that the Raptors are 'serial chokers' when it comes to the big games and regularly put their fans through torture before failing to deliver yet again.

This time was different though as Dave and I were there to add our considerable support and expert knowledge on the sport - well what an Englishman and Scotsman don't know about basketball isn't worth knowing frankly :) So when Leonard's winning shot went in, the bar and Toronto exploded in emotion as history was made. The following day was our last before flying home and it was clear what the victory meant as Toronto was buzzing, so much so we went in vain to buy shirts as a souvenir - demand had meant stores had run out of our sizes!

A Jubilant Kawhi Leonard after his history making shot (photo from Toronto Star)

It worked and not only did they put those Pesky 76ers to the sword, the Raptors continued to progress through the seemingly endless regional play-off finals until the Big One, the grand final against the fancied San Fransisco Golden State Warriors where last night, history was made with the Raptors finally delivering on their promise and it seems Toronto and maybe much of Canada went wild with this long promised but tantalisingly distant victory.

Go Raptors Go, you did it - We The North!!

Comic Packing!

Ahoy there! With the convention season settling in, it's time to catch up with making my special Comic & Print Packs. These include both collections of the self-contained Moments of Adventure comics plus a limited Artist's Pencil Edition sketch comic (or A.P.E as I call it!), two exclusive prints plus an unique watercolour character postcard, all for a very reasonable rate :)

These have proven very popular since I started them as, like myself, folk love picking up something different which showcases an artist's work at a good value price. Each pack, takes a wee while to pull together, particularly the watercolour sketches, so I tend to do them in batches ahead of a few shows.

Although if I run out, I can be seen to do some 'on the spot' at shows which itself is a strange experience when you're not used to drawing in public - everyone is usually lovely and complimentary but it's a side I still struggle over, but as with all things, practice helps!

Anyway, here's a wee glimpse of the pack's contents as I prepare a new batch of sketches!

Some of last year's sketches which, I think, have now all gone!

2019 Season sketches in preparation!

Scottish Spring Tour!

Quiet on here but not here after my various wonderful trips which are hard to describe! However, the comic convention season is already on the way with two shows under my belt during last week's Scottish Spring Tour!
 

The Dunfermline set-up inside a giant marquee!

Different set-up and stock for the Edinburgh show!

This took in both my Dunfermline Comic-Con debut and a welcome return to Edinburgh Comic-Con, where once again, Gary Crutchley ably manned the table during my infrequent absences (!) and sold his WesterNoir and recently launched Hard Country trades, to great success.

It's always great to catch up with the Scottish comic contingent and even though it was hard on my own at Dunfermline to do my normal socialising, I did see a great deal of familiar faces, many of whom I saw again with more time to chat in Edinburgh.  
 

With the shows being a week apart we took the opportunity to stay in Scotland, catch up with local cousins for a fab meal, then head North and catch up with the family - and Mother's Day, our first we shamefully realised since the year before we moved, 1986, Eeek!! - which was fun as always but the weather was pretty changeable this time of year.

We also made a welcome stop at Kemnay's finest, Geek Bothy Store where we caught up with Emma and Morgan, fresh from the shop's latest award-winning accomplishments and ahead of the following week's Scottish awards! The store is a delight and all awards are highly deserved for the hard work and attention that Emma, ably supported by Morgan, puts in :)
 

Geek Bothy's Current Comic Corner!

Gone but not Forgotten!

 

 

As the new year gets under way, there's already a lot to say 

but not from me as I've gone away,

To a land you know where, a place in my heart I do care

and always dreamt to return there,

So don't worry about this chappy, I'm just away being happy

while wearing a new hattie,

But in case you miss this face of mine, here's a pic or nine

and I'll see you back here in no time!

For those I miss don't be sad, I'm doing something which makes me glad

even if you think me mad :)

P.S If you want to see more check out previous year's posts from 22 January, starting here :)