June
ah. the fort-monthly news-lestter…
err so the last time we got one of these out was *checks notes* december?!?! WHOOPS. as it happens, the tail end of last year was a tad bananas on both the life and work fronts which seg-wayed into full-throttle sprint pencilling a rather chunky graphic novel. there’s also been the odd cover-job/bit of storyboarding here and there to boot, so to get this newsletter back up to speed i’m probably going to put out a few more instalments in next month or so just to catch up on everything…
(and maybe after that we’ll get back into the habit of putting these things out on a semi-regular basis?)
WE SHALL SEE.
DEATH DROP #404 error error
huh. whatever happened to issue #3 of that series you and David Hazan were working on you may be asking? well, as of a few weeks ago we’re officially on the hunt for a new publisher- so if anyone out there is itching to acquire a queer crime-noir with lots of snappy dialogue, twists and turns then boy-howdy we have a 5-part miniseries for you!
in the meantime, David’s flagship series NOTTINGHAM with Mad Cave Comics is entering it’s final arc, so now would be a great time to jump on that if you fancy and gritty, gutsy re-examination of Robin Hood from The Sheriff’s PoV. backs will surely be stabbed!
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO HIGH
as mentioned at the jump, a good chunk of my time is currently being spent getting pencils for Rex Ogle’s YA re-telling of Alexandre Dumas classic in the can. at the time of writing there’s less than 50 spreads to go (much like the original, this is a pretty beefy book, clocking in at 276 pages) so the end is in sight…. i think? it’s been an absolute treat though- i am EXTREMELY ride or die for the cast of characters Rex has created… even if the high-school setting means there’s plenty of group shots like this;
Rex is currently/was recently on tour promoting his latest book ROAD HOME, the conclusion to his memoir trilogy. the book recounts his time navigating abuse and surviving on the streets after his father discovered he was gay. you can sign up to his newsletter to keep up with everything thing he’s got going on HERE.
KILLTOPIA: NANOJAMS
last time round we were gearing up for the Nanojams kickstarter. given the sheer number of creators on board for this thing, it was a pretty high goal but Dave Cook absolutely smashed it. EXTREMELY excited this is going ahead because not only did Ollie Gerlach write an absolute doozy about DVD-smugglers (and the cultists who hate them) for me to draw, but this anthology also features SO MANY of my favourite people in comics. special shout-out to Micah Myers who has tied the whole thing together with his wonderful lettering 🙌🙌🙌
if you missed out on the campaign, pre-orders will be opening soon on Dave’s website and in the meantime you can read all about the project HERE.
STORYBOARDING
One of the things that came in at the tail-end of last year was a pitch with Private Island for this Duracell ad. - typically these jobs see me just working on boards (and occasionally extra bits for animatics), but as the commercial was going to be fully cgi i was also given the opportunity to work on background mock ups for the animation studio;
i also had the pleasure of working with them on a series of shorts for Alienware back last summer that went finally went live earlier this year. originally six shorts were pitched and i am forever going to be pouring one out for teen-girl-ghost-hunting-slumber-party squad;
these two did make the cut though!;
RUNSCAPE: WIZARD’S CULT #2
a MASSIVE thank you to Calum Collins for bringing me on as a variant cover artist for issue #2 of FORGOTTEN RUNES: WIZARD CULT (especially since it meant getting to draw some Magic Chess!).
"What begins as a seemingly unconnected series of fantastic tales about disparate wizards - Archmagus Crowley of Atlantis, who has been hired to steal a treasure chest from a ship in the middle of the ocean; Mystic Willow of the Brambles who's dealing with her own drama, as the humans in a nearby village wrongfully accuse her of abducting children; Alchemist Danny of the Fey's apprentice begins to suspect her master has been kidnapped and replaced with an imposter - gradually merges into a much larger, and more terrifying tale."
HAUNTING MELODY
HAUNTING MELODY is Chloe Spencer’s second book with queer YA publisher Tiny Ghost Press. I previously did the cover art for Chloe’s debut, MONSTERSONA and was lucky enough to be asked back by Josh to work with them on her next book which is another cracker;
The only child of an acclaimed ghost hunter couple, Melody Myere’s First Sacred Hunt should have been a walk in the park. All she needed to do was catch a ghost, like she’s done all her life. But when an unexpected wraith showed up causing havoc, Melody was left scarred and embarrassed.
The only child of an acclaimed ghost-hunter couple, Melody is forced to relocates to the sleepy island town of Murkmore after her first mission goes horribly wrong. Determined to prove herself Melody sets out to capture the murderous spectre haunting her new home on her own.
When a haunting song lures Melody to an abandoned theater, she encounters a recently deceased musical prodigy by the name of Cyrus. All signs point to Cyrus being the killer, but Melody isn’t so sure…
Haunted by more than just a sinister song, Melody must learn to trust her instincts to catch the killer and prove herself before it’s time to face the music.
HAUNTING MELODY is out this October and available for pre-order now!
COURIER Z
errrrr…. so when i originally started drafting this post, Nick Bryan had just launched his latest kickstarter for THE COLLECTED LETTERS OF COURIER Z. by time of posting, that is well and truly in the rear-view mirror (sorry Nick 😭((i am basically VERY bad at doing anything that isn’t DESPERATELY TRYING TO CATCH UP ON WORK RIGHT NOW)).
sitting right in the sweet-spot between Red Dwarf and Judge Dread, COURIER Z follows a beleaguered post-woman doing the rounds across in a galaxy swamped by capitalist excess, dark underbellies and annoying customers. Nick reached out a while ago to see if i wanted to illustrate one of his shorts which was a resounding yes from me.
bad news was that i didn’t have a time to colour my pages for this BUT! that meant A.H.G (who coloured a number of stories in the book) stepped in. i’ve been a HUGE fan of his work ever since reading EAT MY FLEASH, DRINK MY BLOOD so that was a total treat.
RECOMMENDATIONS
JAM BOOKSHOP is coming back! after a year plus run in Old Street, the store is relocating to Portobello Green Arcade on Portobello Road and looking to resume business July 5th. David Greene did a _fantastic_ job of curating his shelves and is a MASSIVE champion of small press comics- if you want to support the shop in the run up to the re-opening, you can order via his bookshop UK page.
A FALL FROM GRACE is the latest graphic novel from Norm Konyu and is currently crowd-funding on kickstarter.
“[Axopoptl] wants nothing more than to doze upon his throne, soaking up the praise of his worshippers. But little does he know that the Spanish are coming and everything is about to change.
Like it or not, Axopoptl is going to have to find his way in the modern world with all of the other fallen gods, dreaming of the day he will be rightfully restored to power…”
Norm is an absolute master of visual story-telling with a sharp, graphic style that feels quite unlike anything else i’ve seen. His debut THE JUNCTION is an absolute knock-out and i’d HIGHLY recommend you make good of the opportunity to snap it up.
till next time!
Thats a lot of comics, cool!
Thanks for the update! So many awesome comics to look forward to!! 🤩😁