Brickman! He's a card!

Delivered from the printers this morning, brand new Brickman and Trowel mini-prints. These full colour prints can either be added to your collection or used as postcards, along with the other two cards in the series, Combat Colin and Derek the Troll. 

They'll be available from my table at the Bristol Comic Expo this Saturday, 6th August, alongside my other prints, The 7 Ages of Fan (A4 size), the A5 size Character Data Card, and of course, copies of my Brickman comics. See you there! 

More info:
https://bicsevents.wordpress.com/

Extra-special BEANO this week!

This week's Beano is an unmissable issue for kids on their school holidays and comic fans of all ages. It comes packaged in a card envelope which reveals one of the great gifts - the Flying Dennis Disc, a perfect frisbee for the park or beach. 

I know some people hate 'bagged' comics, but what if the packaging itself was a gift? On the back of the card envelope are cut out and keep Beano Buddies, - similar to the classic stand-up footballers that D.C. Thomson used to give away with their comics waaayy back in the 1960s.

That's not all. Inside the envelope there's a packet of Dennis Drenchers water balloons, ideal for all Menaces. 

The comic itself is an excellent issue. There's all the favourites such as Dennis and Gnasher, The Numskulls, Bananaman, Minnie the Minx and more...

Art by Nigel Parkinson.

...and a dog-themed Star Wars spoof I did for this week's Pup Parade...

Story/art by Lew Stringer.

This week's Bash Street Kids story is unusual in that it's only one page, but it leads directly into a board game in the centre pages called Escape from Bash Street! 

All in all, this is an exceptional issue and a must-have for Beano collectors. It's on sale in newsagents and supermarkets across the UK now for £3.50.

Who's for summer?

The Doctor Who Magazine Summer Special (or 'Special Edition' as they prefer) is published this week, packed with all-new content. Although there are no strips in the special, the content is sure to be of interest to Doctor Who fans who follow this blog. 

The Special Editions have a different theme each issue, and this time it focuses on location filming of the series over the years, with information, anecdotes, and exclusive interviews.  

Published by Panini, the 100 page special goes on sale on Thursday 4th August, priced £5.99. 

Expo Update

Mike Allwood, organizer of the Bristol Comic Expo, has just posted an update on Facebook for Saturday's event...

EXPO UPDATES!

Pre booked tickets can be collected from 9.45am, (Door open 10am.)

On the day, ticket sales at £5 will be available around 10.30am.

We will make every effort to clear the queues! 

All guests will be in the Penn Suite with their own tables.

The Suicide Squad #1 signing by writer Rob Willaims is at Noon. 

The main bar will be offering a special snack menu. 

Cosplay! As we have stated before, Team Expo will be awarding " Spot Prizes " on the day, CINEWORLD tickets, TTL Photo Shoot FP Exclusive T-Shirts etc will be given away!

Some Guests do charge for sketches ...just ask first, ok!

  ....That is about it.... ENJOY THE SHOW EVERYONE!

**************************

Guests include John M. Burns, Alan Davis, Paul Grist, Graham Bleathman, and me, amongst others. (Full guest list here:

https://bicsevents.wordpress.com/guests/)

I'll have prints and Brickman comics on my table, and I'll be available to do sketches (for a small fee) all day. 

If you live in or around Bristol, or are visiting the city, the Comic Expo is the place to be! Hope to see you there!

More info:

https://bicsevents.wordpress.com/ 

The new DANDY ANNUAL is here!

Although the weekly Dandy went to that great newsagents in the sky back in 2012, the annual continues with all-new material. The Dandy Annual 2017 was published today so I thought I'd give you a sneak preview. Look away now if you're waiting until Christmas Day to find out what it contains. 

Firstly, an apology. Unfortunately the Korky the Cat page I did, that I previewed on my blog (here) the other week, hasn't made it to the finished book. They've chosen to use Korky mini-strips by Nigel Auchterlounie instead. A disappointment for me, but I've no problem with Nigel's work on course. I'm hoping my page will appear in the 2018 book or somewhere else. (A lesson learned though. I won't be running any more previews of my work on my blogs until I'm sure the strips are in print.)

Desperate Dan is in the annual of course, drawn by Ken Harrison (who also did the cover). It's good to see such an iconic character back in print...

Talking of old characters, Dirty Dick makes a surprising return after an absence of many years, with five mini-strips illustrated by Karl Dixon...

Recent Dandy Annuals have only featured 'classic' characters but this year shakes things up a bit by including some of the newer characters. I'm pleased to say I contributed five Kid Cops mini-strips and several pages of Postman Prat (two of which were written by David Mason). I'm particularly pleased with a two page Postman Prat Christmas story I've written and drawn, which is in the centre pages of the book...

There's a light adventure strip in the form of Secret Agent Sally, by Karl Dixon, that runs in several parts throughout the annual...

Kev F. Sutherland makes his return, with two long stories featuring various characters...

The rest of the 112 pages in the annual are packed with strips such as Winker Watson by Wilbur Dawburn, Cuddles and Dimples by Nigel Parkinson, The Jocks and the Geordies by Paul Palmer, Agent Dog 2 Zero by Wayne Thompson, Bad Grandad by Andy Fanton, My Dad's A Doofus by Jamie Smart, and much more.

The Dandy Annual 2017, R.R.P. £7.99. Available now from online booksellers and in the shops soon.