January (DnD edition)
Err. I was meaning to get this out before the end of the year, but the last few months wound up being pretty all over the show (Chaos was something of a theme for 2024 ) . I also had to take time-out for some surgery in November and wow, turns out being cut up will really slow you down. Colour me surprised pikachu!
All in all, was a WEIRD YEAR- things that have seemingly been stuck in limbo were suddenly all systems go on both professional and personal fronts... however with some Pretty Major Life stuff checked off, I’m VERY much looking forwards to heading into ‘25 with a MUCH clearer head. Theres two chunky graphic novels to dive into, plus the resurrection of another project that had seemingly been cast adrift- but more on that once it’s announced :D)!
I’ve been fortunate enough to bag some pretty fun side-gigs since the last letter, but I’ll save some of those for future instalments seeing as I’m going to be busy with Things I Cannot Show for the next who-knows-how-long. for now, here’s a round-up of some of the DnD podcast covers I’ve recently had the pleasure of doing;
CAST PARTY
Cast Party returned for its second season earlier this year! This time round we’re following a rag-tag band who discover they might not be entirely of their world…
Also on the Cast Party front; there’s been some changes to the cover art for their show’s current mini-series, NOCTURNE with a few character deaths and introductions to the cast (At this point I’m curious to see if any of the OG characters are going to make it to the endgame 😬)…
GO HOME YOU’RE DRUNK
GO HOME, YOU’RE DRUNK is a new dnd podcast from the award-winning comedy group, Gigglemug. DM’ed by Sam Cochrane, each episode sees a new stand-up comedian attempt to D20 their way through a drunken night out while avoiding getting crit-ed by everything from chicken shop serial killers to deadly pub quiz tournaments….
Past guest include the likes of Jordan Grey, Sophie Ducker, Hal Cruttendan and many, many more. A huge thank you to Sam for reaching out on this one!
THE DEAD DRAGON SOCIETY
Another new show for 2024! Big thanks to Frankie Chiappone for bringing me on to make a cover for their DnD live-play podcast THE DEAD DRAGON SOCIETY- and for letting me go to town on designing the logo (on that note, a resolution for this year is to FINALLY crack open the copy of Affinity Designer I’ve got sitting on my laptop and unpack the trauma that was a crash-course in Illustrator way-back-when I was at university 😰 ).
GOON NIGHT AT FREDDYS
Look. I realise language has done it’s thing and ‘goon’ has taken on a WHOLE new meaning, but back in the day it referred to a henchman… which is what DM Jimmy May and freinds were going for when originally named their podcast, GOON QUEST. Jimmy got in touch towards the tail end of last year to see if I could do a cover for their new mini-series, GOON NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, which finds three hapless shmoose investigating some weeeeeeeeird occurances at a local arcade featuring some rather deadly (and familiar) animatronics…
DUNGEONS AND DADDIES
Without a doubt, I 100% owe all the opportunities mentioned above to the Dungeons and Daddies crew. It’s absolutely _crazy_ to think it was five years ago when this Freddie Wong guy popped up in my inbox asking if I was available to do a cover illustration for a new DnD podcast he was putting together (I am internally 85 years old and totally didn’t know who he was 🙃🙃🙃). From that rough-cut of the first episode, it’s been amazing watching this show absolutely explode and I am ETERNALLY grateful the guys have got me back for each new season and bonus campaign. Speaking off…
DADHAMMER see’s Matt Arnold take the reigns as DM, throwing the rest of the crew into the grim, dark, unforgiving future of Warhammer 40,000. I was absolutely OBSESSED with miniature shops and the lore of it all as a kid (although never quite got myself together to ACTUALLY learn how it all worked), so it was really fun to get to play in this particular sandbox!
As alway, episode one is available on the main feed with the remaining episodes popping up on the show’s Patreon (which, having recently got access to is absolutely popping off non-stop if you’re looking to treat yourself).
2024 also saw launch of season 3 of the main show! rather than a continuing the story of S1 and S2, THE PEACHYVILLE HORROR is a whole new thing, jumping back to the 1950s where a small-town bowling team find themselves trying to avert a Lovecrafttian apocalypse while evading the mysterious Project Heartland.
the show uses the BRUTAL Call of Cathulu system and 15 episodes in we’ve already had to update the cover art once due to an Unfortunate Demise…
THE COUNT OF MONTÈ CRISTO HIGH
aaaaand just a quick nod at one of the books I’m working on. SUPER excited to _finally_ be getting my teeth into inks for mine and author Rex Ogle’s YA retelling of Dumas’ classic tale of revenge. Much to my GREAT shame, I’ve never read the original… but I’m setting myself the goal of doing so before I finish art on this bad-boy! I know I’ve waxed about it before, but Rex’s script is fantastic and got me super curious to check out the original. This is a theam with some of Rex’s other recent books which include re-tellings of Don Quixote and Ann of Green Gables , so if twists on the classics are your jam, check those out!
MCM
I didn’t got the chance to do as many shows as I would have liked last year, but I was lucky enough to get into October’s MCM! This con is in a league of its own in terms of scale (UK-speaking). This time round was particularly crazy- which may have been in part due to having a bit more going on that usual;
For the first time I had the chance to participate in a panel- and what an amazing first go! I’m huge fan of Alison Sampson, Rachel Smith, Sarah Gordon and Shazleen Khan, so getting to talk comics with them with Sarah Miles chairing was an absolute treat. A huge thank you to Cecile Castellucci for putting this together!
Another first was being asked to do a signing for an exclusive variant for Forbidden Planet. Last year I had the chance to work with Titan Comics on a cover for the launch of a new series RuneScape; Untold Tales of the God Wars they put out with Ryan O’Sullivan (words), Daniel Bayliss and Sid Kotian (art) expanding on the lord behind the fan-favourite videogame;
Again, another first. Hahah if you come across two or more of these in the wild, PLEASE don’t compare signatures. A HUGE thank you to editors Phoebe Hedges and Will O’Mullane (both awesome creators in their own right who you should totally check out!)
The other thing I _love_ about conventions is that it gives me a deadline to make PERSONAL ART so I’ve at least got some new prints to add to the rotation while we’re waiting for me to, y’a know, ACTUALLY FINISH A BOOK.
In typical me-fashion, I was relatively late to the Chapelle Roan phenomenon (resisting the obvious pun here)… but oh man oh man that album is FUN. I’m hoping I can do some more music-based art this year. Fingers crossed for that MCM May application to come through so I can actualise on that… 🤞🤞🤞
I’ve been meaning to make some additional Daddies artwork for a hot minute now. An Unfortunate Foster Children poster has been on the cards since season one and there’s ideas for more but once again we’ll have to see how the time goes 😬
Aaaand last but not least….
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Star Tide Shores
TSTS is a new pulpy, sci-fi anthology series from Henry Goeldner (words) and Livio Baggio (art ((and more commonly known by the moniker Iilluminated Comics)) charting the deeds and misdemeanours of Elise Faulkner, space-gun for hire. In this first volume, Faulkner finds herself thrown into the hunt for the successor to a blood-thirsty empire with a power-hungry mega-corporation and a ruthless challenger to the crown.
I initially came across the kickstarter for this book via Livo who I’ve been avidly following for a while. Asides from being an amazing artist (seriously, man’s comic timing is impeccable can twist facial expressions quite like no other), he’s also a brilliant writer in his own right- particularly when it comes to crafting just the most irredeemable scum-bag (see his long-running series, SOTA; DEATHMONGER. Just. Peak terrible protagonist 👌👌👌). As such, he’s a PERFECT pairing for this book who’s cast wouldn’t be out of place back-stabbing each other in the most scummiest, villainous depths of Mos Eisle.
chief amounts these is Faulkner herself who, in the tradition of all good space rouges, is MORE than happy to shoot first. Goeldner’s script is super punchy and full of character, making us more than happy to go along with Elise as she attempts to shepherd the naieve heir to the Astral Empire to safety, a job which comes with a fair share of ultra-violence. And man, is it brutal;
As well as pulling off a drawing which packs the most vicieral of punches (and disembolments, head shots, etc), Livo also has a great eye for design with some super dynamic layouts…
… and will occasionally up the ambience by REALLY going to town on the panels themselves which at times almost become part of the environment themselves;
Keep an eye out on Henry and Livo because vol. 2 is going to be hitting kickstarter SOON.
Who Killed Sarah Shaw
Speaking of kickstarters, I also wanted to give a shout out to Frankee White and Adam Markiewicz who are going to be running a campaign for a collected edition of their webcomic WHO KILLED SARAH SHAW.
The pair reunite following their debut collaboration EAT MY FLEASH, DRINK MY BLOOD. Once again they deliver a story full of very human characters; While their first book was hyper-dialed in on two characters’ relationship as they navigate meeting the in-laws (and, er, some seriously bad cult shit.), this time round is a much more expansive affair as a pair of true-crime podcasters kick the dust off a cold case in a small town. Adam’s expressive realism is once again the perfect pairing for Frankee’s script and you should absolutely have this on your radar.
OKAY THAT’S MORE THAN ENOUGH OF THAT SEE YOU NEXTIME XOXOXOX
I mostly know "Goon" as a hockey term, for the guy designated to fight with other players...