ANDY WINTER INTERVIEW













Hey all. There's an interview with Andy Winter (Hero Killers, Blood Psi) over on Comicrelated.com. He talks about our new book, Tim Skinner: Total Scumbag as well as his latest graphic novella, Septic Isle. Should also mention that Septic Isle (art by Mick Trimble, cover by myself) has just come out in the States. Find out more at www.britainisbroken.com. You can read said interview here.

Dec.

DUBLIN CITY COMIC CON
























As i've mentioned before, this weekend is the Dublin City Comic Con. Featured guests this year include overseas talent like Adi Granov, Olivier Copiel, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Hollingsworth and Esad Ribic as well as two of my favourite artists, Tommy Lee Edwards and Michael Lark. Lets also not forget all the talented Eclectic Micks; Stephen Mooney, Stephen Thompson and Nick Roche.
Also recently added to the bill is new Marvel sensation David Lafuente and ....uh ...me.

I'll be at a couple of panels over the weekend:

On Saturday....

Independent Comics Panel Hosted By Liam Sharp.
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM

Featuring Stephen Mooney, Stephen Thompson, Nick Roche and Declan Shalvey talking about all aspects of working in the world of Independent comics. This panel is hosted by Mam Tor Editor in Chief Liam Sharp. Who recently published his first novel God killers and is the artist on 2008’s highest selling comic book, Gears of War from Wildstorm Productions.

And on Sunday myself and Andy Winter will be discussing and showing previews of new book Tim Skinner; Total Scumbag in the following panel...

Launch Pad Hosted by Johnathan Hickman.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

This presentation is a spotlight on up and coming independent Irish Comic Books launching exclusively at this year’s Dublin City Comic Con. There’ll be a range of titles and creators talking about their respective releases. Hosted by Jonathan Hickman, writer and artist of the Nightly News, Pax Romana and architect of the new Marvel Universe Cross Over Event Secret Warriors. This is definitely one not to be missed.

There's a full list of all the panels here

I'll be at Andy's Moonface Press table as much as possible, come by to pick up a copy of Tim Skinner, Frankenstein or any of Andy's previous books, including some of the last remaining Hero Killers. Free sketch with every purchase.

Also, thanks to Joe at the Forbidden Planet International Blog for mentioning the con and Tim Skinner.

Dec.

TIM SKINNERED!
























Tim Skinner; Total Scumbag cover

Just heard from Andy Winter that copies of our new collaboration Tim Skinner; Total Scumbag has come back from the printers so we're all set for the Dublin City Comic Con this weekend. Of course, i'll have copies of Frankenstein on hand and i hope everyone gets one, but i'm really looking forward to seeing the reaction to Tim Skinner. Myself and Andy really wanted to do something together again, especially after the success of Hero Killers and i honestly think this is one of the best things either of us have done. From the back cover blurb:

"Soon after Tim Skinner inherited his grandfather's old comic book collection he discovered something extraordinary - it was magic and by making a simple wish he could step into the pages of any of the fabulous four-colour fantasies his heart desired. He could hang out with cowboys, futuristic robots or whingeing adolescent mutants.

Unfortunately, Tim is a loathsome piece of garbage and instead of enjoying fun and frolics in a universe of action and adventure he brutalises and exploits his comic-book chums for his own nefarious ends.

Truly, Tim Skinner is a total scumbag!"
























Page one of Tim Skinner; Total Scumbag

I don't mind showing the first lettered page of the book, as i posted the inks about a year ago! I've said this elsewhere, but when i read Andy's script i was blown away with how sharp and funny it was. Plus, it was a nice change of pace from classical adaptations. Another big reason for doing it was that Andy was keen on doing a book in full-colour; that would mean i could finally have a go at colouring my own work. Obviously, Frankenstein is my first work that has been published in colour but i'm sure you'll notice a dramatic difference in how that was coloured and how this book has been coloured. I finally had a chance to do my own work in flat colour. Who's to say i'll ever get that chance again? Anyway, from all my rantings i'm sure you can tell how happy i am with this project and how i hope all who read this blog pick up a copy at the Dublin con, or order in through Diamond in a month or so.

Dec.

SEPTIC ISLE
























I should have mentioned Andy Winter (Eagle Award winning writer of Hero Killers) unveiled his new book at the Bristol Expo a couple of weeks ago. It's gotten a rake of geat reviews so far (links below). It's a bloody great read and you can pick up a copy for yourself at www.moonfacepress.com.

Interior artwork by Mick Trimble. Logo by Will Sliney. Wraparound cover by yours truly. I'm sure i posted the full colour and black and white art a few months back.

Review one, two, three, four.


There's also a new review of Hero Killers floating about. Read it here. It kindly says about me...

"I will certainly be interested in seeing his work develop, an artist who definitely has the potential to go places, in my humble opinion."

Hopefully, as i drew thew book 3 years ago, my curent work is far more developed.
And the 'places' i'm going to doesn't mean the dole office.....
Again.

Dec.

MY EAGLE AWARD NOMINATIONS

Best Newcomer Writer: SIMON SPURRIER

While Si is pretty established as far as 2000AD fans are concerned, outside of that circle, he may not be as well known, that's why he gets my vote. Si has had a huge break with his Silver Surfer; In Thy Name mini series for Marvel. I was chuffed to hear Si had landed the gig. Couldn't go to a nicer guy.

Best Newcomer Artist: KEITH BURNS

As tempted as i was to vote for myself (seeing as someone had alredy nominated me...), I had to support Keith, who drew Blood Psi for Andy Winter. Plus, he's from Ireland, so he deserves a vote, just for that.

Best Writer: ED BRUBAKER

It's no secret i love this man's writing. As you see more of my nominations, you might notice this.

Best Writer/Artist: BOB BYRNE

What can i say about this guy that hasn't already been said about Afganistan? He's bombed up and depleted. Ah just kidding, like i said in the last post, this is Bob's year, and i really hope he at least gets a nomination for this.

Best Penciller: RUFUS DAYGLO

Aside from being a top bloke, i was lucky enough to see Rufus' pencilled pages at the recent Hi-Ex con in Inverness. I really like his approach to storytelling, with a keen eye on design. That kind of work interests me more than a tightly-rendered pencil drawing.

Best Inker: STEFANO GUADIANO

Not a UK boy (actually, i don't know where he's from), but again, i really like this artist's approach to inks. Loose and textured, his inks add great atmosphere to Michael Lark's pencils on Daredevil.

Best Fully Painted Artwork: ESAD RIBIC

Have you seen this guy's work? I've seen simple line-drawings he's done, and they're amazing.

Best Colourist: LEN O' GRADY

Surprised i had to add Len's name to this list. Along with doing great colour work in 2000AD, Len's belting out great colours on his many IDW books. Plus, he's Irish. Let's see the award go to a Limerick-man!

Best Editor: CHRIS RYALL

Last year i voted for Matt Smith, who quite deservedly won, but this year i'm going for Chris Ryall. He's really going all out there with IDW, with his Angel and Star Trek books, but aside from that, he's employing not one, not two, not three, but FOUR irish lads. See a running trend here? If you're Irish i'll vote for you.

Best Publisher: IMAGE

Admittedly, Marvel are knocking it out of the park these days with top creators on top books. Dark Horse too, are bringing out some of my favourite books, but i voted for Image. Image really is where some great, original stories are being published and by god, that's a cause i'll support.

Fav American Colour Comic: CRIMINAL

Love this book. Love the story. Love the art. Nuff said.

Fav UK Colour Comic: 2000AD

2000AD can be tricky. There's some stuff in there i really don't like, but there's some really great stuff too. All in all, it's the best UK colour book i've read, so voted for it, i did (in Yoda voice)

Fav B&W American: THE WALKING DEAD

Have you read this book? Freakin' unbelievable. Without a doubt, the most compelling book on the stands these days.

Fav B&W UK: BLOOD PSI

Arrrgh! This was a tough one, as i really wanted to vote for PJ Holden's PREVIOUSLY (Sorry PJ!) but, i had to support Andy's Hero Killers follow up. A really, really great vampire story, that's recieved rave reviews. Oh yeah, i also did the cover for it. I urge you to vote for either book. They're both great.

Fav New Comicbook: TANK GIRL - THE GIFTING

Great book By Alan C. Martin, Ashley Wood and Rufus Dayglo.

Fav Comics Story: CRIMINAL 6-10 (LAWLESS)

See 'Fav Writer'. Second arc of the series, and the best so far, in my humble opinion.

Fav Original Graphic Novel: SILVERFISH

Great noir thriller by David Lapham.

Fav Reprint Collection: CRIMINAL: COWARD

See 'Fav Writer' (again)

Fav Comics Hero (HERO): BUCKY (CAPTAIN AMERICA)

Captain America is another great book by Brubaker, but what he did with the Bucky character in the last year or so has been a fantastic read.

Fav Comics Villain: BARRACUDA

Loved the recent Barracuda run in Punisher, and his own mini-series. Great villain.

Fav Magazine: DRAW!/WRITE NOW

I don't get to read thse as much as i'd like, but when i do get my hands on them i read every inch of them.

Fav Comics Related book: PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Great book that interviews Scott Hampton, Mark Chiarello, Mike Mignola, Brian Stelfreeze,etc. A fantastic read for us artistic type, or any student of sequential storytelling.

Fav Comics Related website: INDIEREVIEW

A site dedicated to UK small press/indie books. They've been very supportive of Hero Killers, so the least i can do is send them a vote their way

Roll of Honour: JAMES REDINGTON

I'd like to nominate Steve Gerber, but to be fair, i've never read any of his work. James Redington however, i was fortunate enough to know. Again, a great supporter of Hero Killers (and small press books in general), James was at all the cons, supporting his own books and others too. He wrote the first interview i ever did and i was so grateful for his efforts to spread the word about our little book. He died tragically at a very youg age in mid '08 and the least i could do for him is to nominate him for the Roll of Honour.

So, there it is. Agree with me? Disagree? Tough. I've already voted, so there's nothin' you can do about it! Right, there's a lot of talk on this artblog recently, i'll post a whole Frankenstein page soon, to make up for it.

Dec.

EAGLE NOMINATIONS FORM

Noticed a couple of days ago that the nominations form for the Eagle Awards was up. Man, i remember this time last year, i was in Cork drawing at Will Sliney's house when i saw the list. And there it was; Hero Killers. I couldn't believe someone actually had voted for the book. Little did i know it'd go to make it through to the nominations list, and eventually win.
So, this year, i'm gonna vote for the little guy, as last year, Hero Killers was the little guy in question. At the awards last year, it was a shame to see most of the awards go to big-name American creators who weren't even attending. Someone told me lots of people were happy to see Andy Winter and myself accept the award, as we were one of the few winners to actually attend the event. So, in most cases, i'm gonna vote for more British creators.
I urge all who read this blog to vote for Bob Byrne as Favourite Writer/Artist. Everyone will probably vote for Frank Miller in this catagory, not to diss Mr. Miller at all, but the guy has gotten a lot of accolades over his career. Give the Eagle to an up-and-commer, i beg of you. This really has been Bob's year; With The Shiznit #4 out, his Twisted Tales for 2000AD, and opus; Mr. Amperduke all out within a year, he deserves to get some props. I noticed his name in the nominations form, and by god, THAT'S who i'll vote for.
(I also noticed there was some young fella by the name of Declan Shalvey in the nominations form for Favourite Newcomer Artist. I was very flattered that at least one person had already voted for me. Thanks, whoever you are, i appreciated it!)

So go forth and vote, gentle reader, and get your friends to vote, too!

http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/nominate.asp

Thanks,

Dec.

BACK TO WORK

All quiet on the blogger front of late. Fell behind cuz I had a throat infection for a week, since then I've been tryin' to catch up on Frankenstein. Here's a Hellboy sketch to keep ye happy.....



















Also, check out Indie Review for and interview with Hero Killers writer Andy Winter. He discusses all his previous books, including Hero Killers along with his upcoming work, which includes our Tim Skinner one-shot, (which i'm slowly plodding along on)

Dec.

DUBLIN CITY COMIC CON --THIS WEEKEND!

Well, it's finally here, this week is the big Dublin Con. Went last year and had a blast. It's strange to think that in only a year i've made some great friends from that one weekend.




















This year's con is a huge step up on last year's one, with the headline guest being Jim Lee, the biggest star ever to come out of comics. Probably the most popular artist the medium has ever produced. While my tastes veer to more indie styles these days, this is the man that made me want to draw comics. I remember picking up a reprint of X-Men issue 1 when i was 12 and i was hooked! Damn you Jim Lee!

Carlos Pacheco had a big effect on me too. He got me out of my Jim Lee/Andy Kubert phase and opened me up to a more dynamic style, that showed how much you could push your knowledge of anatomy.

Liam Sharp drew the first American comicbook i ever bought. Nuff said

I was practically raised on Hitman, created by John McCrea, 'Nuff said there also.

There's an incredible group of talent with more recent artists who've make a name for themselves such as Adi Granov, Ben Oliver, Steve McNiven, Dougie Braithwaite and Jock.

Let's not forget the writers.

Mark Millar is arguably the biggest writer in comics right now, and Paul Cornell is not only becoming well known for being a writer, but for being a very good writer.

But last, and certainly not least are the 'New Kids On The Block,' the Irish talent. Great guys one and all. I speak of course of Stephen Mooney, Stephen Thompson and Nick Roche. All these guys are at the top of their game, working on high-profile books in the States(Angel, Star Trek and Doctor Who, respectively). I'm insanely jealous of them all.

Of course, i'll be there, flogging my wares along with the ever-handsome Will Sliney. He'll have copies of Atomic Rocket Group 66, i'll have Freak Show, Your Round and some Hero Killers too. I'll also have a folder of some Frankenstein work, just to tease you all. I've also been asked to appear on a panel aboul Irish Comics on Sunday at 11AM, so be sure to come to that and heckle me.

So, if you don't make this con, you are officially a leper. There's never been a con with this many high profile guests in Ireland before. I just wish it was saturday right now.

For more details about guests, the venue and panels, check out the Dublin Comic Con Website or MySpace page.

See you Saturday!

Dec.

LAYOUTS

Due to popular demand (well, at least from Mooney), here's a layout page for something else i'm tipping away on. Bad language censored, for you impressionable kids. I'm looking out you Luke and Tyler.





















In other news, i got the rest of the Tim Skinner script off my Hero Killers partner-in-crime, Andy Winter and i gotta say; i love it. I have 3 pages of it done, but i'm not sure when i can get back started on it. I really want to wrap up Book 2 of Freak Show, and there's some other stuff i wanna get out of the way. I'm gonna colour Tim Skinner too, so the sooner it's drawn the better. There's a LOT going on it though, it's gonna be quite a challenge to draw, never mind colour.

Dec

A MAN CALLED STOUT









This is a panel from the next Your Round Story, A Man Called Stout, written by David Baillie. I used a rougher style again, but not as rough as the last one. David's good mate. The story of how we know each other is a long and strange one. He's got a new web comic up on his website called The Belly Button Bubble Chronicles. Check it out.

Also, Andy Winter, my partner on the award-winning Hero Killers, has a new column on www.indiereview.co.uk. Check that out while you're at it. I also quite enjoy reading his blog, so if you'd like to check something else, on top of all that, give it a go.


Dec.

HERO KILLERS MENTION
IN JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE


Yep, In an article on this years Bristol Comic Expo in Meg 258 or this months Judge Dredd Megazine Hero Killers is mentioned as a book to look out for.

Very happy Tharg and his team thought Hero Killers was worth a mention.













And just in case you forgot what Hero Killers looks like, they printed an image of the cover. This one....















Dec.

HERO KILLERS NOMINATED FOR EAGLE AWARD.

I'm thrilled to announce that Hero Killers, written by Andrew Winter and illustrated by myself has been nominated for this years Eagle Award for Favourite British Black and White Comicbook.
To say i'm pleased would be a huge understatement.
I'd like to thank everybody who voted for the nomination, really, thanks so much.
Maybe, if ye all voted for it to win .....it just might.....?

Here's the link;

http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/vote.asp

Thanks again,

Dec

New Hero Killers Review.

At Aint it Cool News;

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=24263#14

Says some good things. My favourite, "the character designs and powers are pretty original and I’d hate to never see them again." Although i can't clain any credit for coming up with the powers, i had a lot of fun designing the characters. Worked hard at it too, so its great to read that people are appreciating them. I know it'd probably be possible to do a Hero Killers follow up, story-wise, but i just wouldn't have the time to draw it, which is a shame, cuz i'd really love to.

Dec.