Criminy Jicket! and other stories

Damn! Damn damn damn! I swore to myself that this time I’d actually keep posting regularly.

Ah well, I’m over it now. Onwards and upwards.

So, what’s new? Well, in no particular order… I just got back from the Bristol Comic Expo (we like the word Expo rather than Con here, for some bizarre reason) and ’twas ace. A real experience that I look forward to repeating every year. Finally managed to get over the fear that engulfed me at Birmingham last October when trying to speak to creators I admire. Surely, it’s silly to be all awestruck. Staz Johnson was a hoot, with a real good sense of humour. Wish I’d taken an old Transformers comic for him to sign. Also, Liam Sharp was every bit as friendly as he is on DeviantART and it was pretty exciting that once I told him my username on DA he was very positive about my stuff, recognising me immediately. I got some very useful contacts and met people within the industry, which I wasn’t expecting to do since I literally went as a fan but took my portfolio along, just in case. Andie Tong, Kris Justice, Dylan Teague and the mighty Jimmy Bott were amongst them. Jimmy’s a cracking bloke, who did more to promote me there than I did. Really talented artist, too. Look him up, it’s worth it!

So, what else? Well, my first Transformers: Mosaic page has been uploaded for all to see.

Here it be!

I’m kinda pleased with it. More pleased by the reaction, which has been pretty damned positive. There’s more to come, says I.

I’m still working on sequentials for the ‘AC & J’ series that began with ‘Doxy Proxy’, the tale that has been twice postponed in Image Comics’ Popgun. Far as I know, we’re set for volume 3 now, but don’t take that as gospel. Anyway, more adventures of Jesus and the Anti-Christ are a’ comin’. Some superhero stuff too, which is being pitched around as I speak/type/poke a ferret with a lampshade.

The weather around here has been uncharacteristically gorgeous. Hot, not warm, for over a week now, resulting in people skiving off work to sit in a beer garden, ice cream vans having to start work early, with bewildered workers inside them, surprised that people want ice cream and not just the usual drugs they supply (Not all, of course, but can you think of any reason the ice cream van would still come around in mid-December in a blizzard? Nope, neither can I).

Makes me realise that the weather really, seriously affects my mood, as I’m sure it does to others. Apparently, it’s called S.A.D. (Seasonal Affected Disorder, or something), but it has nothing to do with seasons. Sun’s out? Motivation is higher. You can do things, go out, plan something that doesn’t have to be indoors to stand a chance of working out. Maybe this is a British point of view, but having a contingency plan in case it pours with rain is commonplace. If the sun was out for much longer, personally I’d go nuts with cheerfulness and creativity.

What I’m trying to say in a roundabout way, is that it’s a shame we have to coop ourselves up in offices for 9+ hours a day and stare out of the window with envious eyes. Office work, in fact any indoor work when the weather is good, isn’t conducive to a happy working environment. I know that even when I get in from a day’s work and it’s a beautiful day, I have to shut all of that out if I’m going to stand any chance of getting artwork done. It’s all done on a PC, in a room that barely sees any sunlight. And it takes hours. It’s not an uncommon sacrifice. Ask any comics professional and they’ll tell you that you have to seriously restrict your social life if you’re going to make it in the industry. When it’s so very tempting just to cross the road to have a quick drink in the sun, though…

Hellish. If only somebody could invent a non-reflective screen for a laptop. Happy days would be here again.

So, I didn’t mean for that to sound negative. I love the weather like this, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Things, as a whole, are good. Many irons in the fire, many fingers in pies, three coins in a fountain and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Now, I have work to do.

But I do have to go out soon. Damn you, temptation!