2019 NEWS

The news is out! 
I will be doing some Comic Cons in 2019, and if all goes to plan, Nika will be joining me for some!

2018 In The Flesh

Fewer Comic Con appearances this year for me and Nika-  I've already done the first one, at Liverpool Exhibition Centre.

The next one is March 31st in Northwich, in Cheshire, nothing in April yet, let's see how this one goes.

Then we're doing Blackpool and Oldham in May, and in June, Macclesfield and a special event in Bradford which includes an appearance by just me at the Bradford Literary festival on 30th June. And in July we'll be somewhere or other.

There will be others, but for now that's the list. Nika fans should know she may not be at all or indeed any of these venues, as she now has an 11 week old to look after!

Cuddles and Dimples, Snot Fair

The final page of an unpublished three page Cuddles and Dimples from 2007. Yes, it's just what it looks like, they're knitting a snot jersey at Granny's house. Who knows why. Colours by Ruth who replaced Nika for a year or so.

Channel4 News: Dennis Still a Menace

After several months Channel 4 finally did their Beano piece about focus groups with CEO Emma Scott bigging up the brand and reassuring parents. Meanwhile Jon Snow (no, obviously not that one) used the M word and our hurridly drawn, probably only to languish on the shelf and not used anyway
comic strip, was not used anyway. So here it is, exclusively. Written by Nigel Auchterlounie, drawn by me.

Revealed: Secret of The Pencil!

The Secret Life of The Pencil was published last week- a hardbound book of super-close-up photos of PENCILS! Not any old pencils though, these belong to artists, photographers, architects, designers, writers, why there's even a cartoonist or two. (Yes, I am in it, on the same spread as Peter Blake!) Most of those included you will have heard of; Gerald Scarfe, Paul Smith, William Boyd, Anish Kapoor, David Bailey, Tracey Emin and so on. And there are brief interviews and doodles and stuff. Who would have thought huge blow-ups of pencil tips could be a) so intriguing and b) all look so different!
These photos were in an exhibition in London a couple of years ago, and seeing my little pencil at the GIGANTIC size of 3 foot by 2 foot in the foyer was quite something!

4,000 Holes, 1 Comic Con

It's Saturday, 4 November, and I'm at the Blackburn Comic Con! But it's just me this time, Nika can't go because of a reason.
Anyway, come and see me, get a free badge, this is my final Comic Con of 2017!

Never Say Never

A few years ago in 2011, after a 15 month run in The Dandy, I said I'd finished drawing Harry Hill and he wouldn't be back.
A few months after that, I drew him again in a Dennis the Menace story in The Beano.
In December 2012 I drew him again in the final print edition of The Dandy.
And now, he's back, in The Beano for one week only!

But never again!

Until...

Colourists I Have Known

Although Nika has been my colourist since 2005, sometimes she wasn't always available. In 2007/9 she had a real job in Greece so I had to find other colourists. In 2006/7 Ruth did the job (and once in a while after that too, including a busy weekend in Leeds in 2013 doing a BBC event) and then she went and got a real job. So, in 2008, I was lucky enough to have Caroline here offer to colour for me. Oddly enough, she'd never coloured before, but was prepared to learn. And she did! She also had a real job too! She would come in to work for me after work and on her day off. Dedication or what. A lot of Cuddles and Dimples in Dandy Xtreme and Dennis The Menace and Lord Snooty III in The Beano were by her. Anyway, after a couple of years, she got another job that required commuting so I had to look for yet another colourist. Luckily, by then Nika had given up her job in Greece and had started colouring with Photoshop so she gladly became my full time colourist again, which she is today of course.
Caroline did a good job and not only that but in June 2009 she organized my 50th birthday do at which I introduced some friends to my Long Lost brother. So it was an interesting time.

Secrets of the Comics Biz Part Three

I haven't always been a successful cartoonist. Believe it or not, 35 years ago in the summer of 1982, I was anything but. They say success is built on skill, ability, talent or hard work. And maybe it is, but in my experience, there's also 'luck'.

Between autumn 1980 and spring 1982 I had managed to finally get a few jobs drawing comics. But I was losing more jobs than I was gaining. With a friend (I thought she was a friend but turned out she wasn't) I had begun to look for other illustration jobs. We eventually got some work with a TV station, and one or two other bits of commissions. I had nearly given up on being a comics cartoonist, I was starting to feel left behind. But we set out on a hot day in July 1982 to a final big push around publishers in London. We had our portfolio cases with us and struck out with the Writers and Artists Yearbook to visit all the publishers who would see us.


Well I won't bore you with the sad tale of our reception at these places. We ended up at 2 O'clock in the afternoon in a tatty, deserted pub in Chalk Farm downing two pints of lager. It was a very dispiriting afternoon. We were just wondering whether we ought to try some more publishers or get the train home when the door burst open, and what I vividly recall as a whirlwind of colour and cheerful shouting charged in. On closer inspection, it was five young women with instrument cases, gloriously mad hair and bright outfits.

After a while, two of the girls came over to us and asked what we had in our portfolios? "Are you dress designers?" asked one "I'm always looking for new ideas!" We said we weren't, we didn't know what we'd be in the morning, but up until now we'd fancied ourselves as Comic cartoonists. "Let's have a look then!" another of them demanded.

We reluctantly opened our cases, explaining that we were out of luck looking for work. "Maybe because we're not very good" I offered. "Don't say that!" said one of the girls, a very tall one who reminded me of a really young Penelope Keith in her poised precise speech, "I shall inform you if you're any good!" She had a good look at my stuff and looked at me very deliberately (I later found out she was very short sighted and that was why she fixed you with a look!) and, pointing at one page, said "this is as good as any cartoon I've ever seen, matey! Don't you dare give up, if you do I'll have to come looking for you!"

Around this point, my "friend" realized who these women were- we had both seen them on Top of The Pops the week before, in fact; they were five of The Belle Stars, and my new booster was sax player Miranda Joyce, who we'd seen singing their hit record, 'The Clapping Song'!

We all chatted for another hour or so, and promised to come and see the band play, and all of the Belle Stars were very charming and pleasant company, but for most of that time, Miranda and I spoke, mainly trivial nonsense about nothing, but I felt so buoyed and confident that a glamorous and fascinating stranger had offered me such unqualified encouragement and support that I felt I'd met someone very special indeed.

When I got back to Liverpool, that short afternoon had somehow changed my attitude. Permanently, as it turned out. I've been relentlessly positive and optimistic ever since. I'd never met a young, successful, artistic Londoner before; in the North our most upbeat catchphrase was 'it's not too bad'. Generally, things were a bit downbeat, especially in the unhappy, downtrodden Liverpool of the early 80s. Miranda's cheerful confident positivity was contagious and I determined to get more work and strive to be a success. I even put Miranda in a Beano comic when she later became a famous make up artist as a sort of secret thank you!

I mentioned this incident to Miranda many years later (see photo!) true to form, she didn't recall it at all, but was glad she'd made such a difference to me.

Lucky day for me.

A Few More Appearances

We're only doing a few Comic Cons this year for reasons which we cannot divulge, and these are the next three:

12 August  BLACKPOOL

23, 24 September  LEEDS Thought Bubble

4 November    BLACKBURN

If you've ever thought you'd like to come and say hello or have a bespoke drawing by me and Nika or slink past anonymously then I strongly advise you to make one of these events, don't wait for 'next time'.