In the shops NOW

Colours Nika (H.H.)

Gillian McKeith may be Out of the jungle today, but look who's IN the jungle! (Topical reference: I don't understand it but I heard people talking about it)
The Dandy this week has another Harry Hill escapade and Little Bruce Forsyth takes us back...back...way back to his childhood. Plus a lot of other stuff too humorous to mention. I'll be buying it. Don't make me do it alone, hear?!

Memory lapse

I came across this today and can't recall if it was ever published. If it was, it would have been around August 2009. Although I did a dozen or so BEA and IVY pages, I didn't even remember drawing a just-IVY page (even though the History of The Beano book for some reason bizarrely reckons that's all I ever did. Research, eh? And I'm still with us. Imagine how "accurate" those histories are where the researcher can no longer just pick up the phone and ask rather than guess or rely on an imperfect memory.) Which reminds me- was this ever printed?

Uncorrectable

I usually just draw 'em, but sometimes someone asks for ideas, and at that point you have to write 'em too.
'Polly Tickly- Correct!' (Get it?!) concerns the inappropriately nannying Polly and her overprotective, overbearing, overwhelmingly awful approach to life.
This is what we in the business know as a 'Rough' - that is, a 'rough' idea of how the characters will look and the story will flow. A completed job would be more sophisticated. Alas, Polly was just too unsound to proceed and has been retired to the rejects pile, and this blog, where her grating voice and unpleasant haircut can be savoured.

Colourists part three

OK, she's not done much recently, but Ruth here hand-coloured a lot of things in 2006-7, including a lot of Cuddles and Dimples in Dandy and Dandy Xtreme (?) and Dennis in the Beano.
However, now she's back doing the occasional thing, and after a Desperate Dan page for a competition winner, her first newly coloured Dennis pages appear in BeanoMAX's Children in need story this week. And she's helped out on Harry Hill in the Dandy, too, as you'll see; look out for a special cracking Christmas page for starters.

Here she is back in October with her Pantone mug that all colourists are obliged to drink from to maintain their super powers.

Ruth's name appears as either R, RT or RTW (first name, first name and surname, first name and married name!) in the corner of a panel, so if you see one of those, the page is one of hers!

You Can't Say You Weren't Warned

Everyone's always blowing their own trumpet. So what do you do to stand out above the crowd? This shop down the road has had this sign up for a long time. But you know, I've never had the nerve to go in and see if the promise is true. I wonder if the soup really IS hot?

You can Count on Arthur

Count Arthur Strong's small but growing band of followers may like to see this, as it's nearly Christmas according to the supermarkets. (Written by Steve Delaney)

Colourists part 1

Eagle-eyed readers of Beano or Dandy who see pages I've drawn may spot a little "H.H." in the corner of a frame quite often. Well, that is actually "N.N." in Russian- and they are the initials of one of the people who assists me, Nika. She does some great colouring for me over in the Balkan bit of Greece, no doubt sipping a lovely cooling drink as she does so.
Comics fans going to the Birmingham Comics Convention in October this year will be able to meet her, shake her hand and say "nice work, miss".
Or "Got any Halva?", which is what I will be saying.

'Mum Fans' Special

Readers of The Dandy and it's 2007-10 incarnation Dandy Xtreme will have seen Cuddles and Dimples, a strip about two dangerously unpleasant children which was inherited by me in 2004 from it's original cartoonist Barry Appleby. During my tenure it's been written by, amongst others, Craig Ferguson and Ally Bernard.

The page (left, coloured, untypically, by Spectra) features the terrible toddlers' mum, who, inexplicably, has always attracted her own small, mainly over-30 coterie of followers.
This charming little story hasn't yet been published and isn't likely to be. But as a parting gift, enjoy the maxing and relaxing chores of this particular Yummy Mummy one last time!

Brothers and sisters

My sister (left pic) has asked me to tell you that, from 1967 to 1969, she collected a comic (Pow!) every Saturday morning from the Newsagents for me when she went to get her Jackie or Petticoat. Well, it was across a dual carriageway and she was 6 years older than me. And sending her out was cheaper than getting it delivered.
Having Spiderman AND the Cloak in one comic was very inspiring. I was already producing my own comics as far back as 1964 but I started to want to draw like Steve Ditko or Mike Higgs. Maybe one day.

My brother (right pic) never did buy me a comic. But then I only met him for the first time in 2009. Long story. Maybe a blog post.

The Man they're all talking about (behind his back)

Yes, it's Arthur again! He kindly asked me to design this CD cover last year, with a glare, a snarl, and a prod of his arthur-itic finger, so how could I refuse? If you've never heard him, then maybe you should have a go! But you may never be the same again!!
Watch Arthur on the YouBend
Buy Arthur on CD

What I do these days...

Dennis and Gnasher back when they were known as Dennis the Menace and Gnasher. This was one of a series of drawings done for D C Thomson merchandising, coloured here by H.H. I've seen it on T shirts and mugs and postcards and posters. I think I saw it on some pyjamas.
I once read in an American Cartoonists magazine waxing lyrical about the American Dennis The Menace that "apparently England had it's own Dennis The Menace briefly in 1951". Nice to know they even noticed I suppose.