The Last Post

Final 'Adam Eterno'. LION 16/10/1976

UPDATE: As you'll know if you follow this blog regularly, I changed my mind several months later after circumstances changed, and revived my blog. However, I've decided to keep this post unchanged as I received so many heartwarming comments after it......

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Sadly, nothing lasts forever and, after six years, this will be my final blog posting for the foreseeable future. It's possible I may post again at some stage but for now I'm giving up blogging to focus more on paid work.

This is something I've been considering for a few weeks now, and with today being the end of the year it seemed an appropriate time to bring down the curtain. 2012 has not been a good year. I began the year as I usually do with some optimism but, as the months went on, work became scarcer. Being a freelancer holds no guarantee of security of course and one cannot expect it to. I'm just telling it like it is. 

Final 'Indestructible Man', JAG 29/3/1969

I've never been one to 'put my eggs in one basket' as the comics business is too precarious to depend on one comic for income. However within the space of a few months this year saw all my regular strips fall by the wayside. I half expected Super School to go from The Beano as that strip was appearing more sporadically, but this was followed by the closure of The Dandy and, the biggest blow, Toxic dropping Team Toxic on the comic's 10th anniversary. (It continues in the comic as reprints of my old material.) I'd been contributing to Toxic since issue 1 in 2002, so it was quite a disappointment to lose the work to put it mildly. I'm hoping to do new strips for the comic in 2013 but of course nothing is certain in freelancing.

In previous times there would be new comics springing up to replace work that was lost, but that happens with less regularity now to say the least. Retailers aren't as hospitable towards new titles as they used to be, sales are far lower than they were in the golden age of comics, so publishers naturally have to work within limited budgets. Subsequently, the comics industry has become a more competitive place because there's less work to go 'round. By nature I'm not a competitive person, and certainly not the sort to perceive other cartoonists as rivals to be knocked down to get what I want. There used to be room for all with no need for dirty tricks, but I'm noticing that changing and it's an unpleasant shift. On the whole, the comics industry is a very friendly and relaxed place and most comics folk will look out for each other as best they can. But there's always going to be one or two who'll undercut you and/or fabricate tales to give their own career a leg up. The comics biz is too small for such slyness. People like that always get rumbled eventually.

Final 'Two Faces of Janus', POW! 7/9/1968

I won't go into personal details too deeply but I'm also finding that being my Mum's carer is becoming more time-consuming and stressful, so overall, 2012 hasn't been great, and 2013 is looking grim so far. Changes have to be made. I've enjoyed writing this blog for the past six years but it can be quite time consuming and blogging is only a hobby after all. For example, the blog post on Knockout the other day took over two hours to research, scan, and write, and I can't afford the spare time to do it any longer. In 2013 my focus has to be firmly on finding new comics work and continuing to care for my Mum. No time for hobbies. It's going to be a make or break year. Either way, I guess you'll hear how it goes.

Final 'Rubberman', SMASH! 7/9/1968

When I started Blimey! back in December 2006 I gave no thought to how long I'd be writing it. I've never considered myself a comics 'expert' but I am enthusiastic about the history of comics. I wanted to share some thoughts about old British comics which were mainly neglected by other websites and I was very pleased with the response. (My only regret was spending some time a while back arguing with a couple of trolls and wasters here instead of ignoring them from the outset.)

Final 'Steel Claw', VALIANT 27/10/1973

If things pick up I may return to blogging occasionally as there's still a lot of old strips to cover. The history of British comics is so vast, with many comics and creators forgotten about or unknown by newer collectors, that more should be written. Since I started Blimey! a number of other blogs have started up, also with a focus on UK material. You'll find links to them on the sidebar of this blog, but I'll list a few here as well:

http://www.wackycomics.com/

http://petergraycartoonsandcomics.blogspot.co.uk/

http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk/

http://john-adcock.blogspot.co.uk/

http://twoheadedthingies.blogspot.co.uk/

Mention should also be made of John Freeman's Down The Tubes website, which has been running longer than Blimey! and is an excellent place to keep up with developments in the British comics industry, as is the Forbidden Planet International blog. There's also Bear Alley by Steve Holland, a true expert of British adventure comics and pulp books. Bookmark 'em all today!

If you want to keep up with any developments of my career my website will continue to operate at http://www.lewstringer.com/ and I'll try to update my Deviantart page more often over at http://lewstringer.deviantart.com/ .

I'll also be selling off more of my old artwork on eBay next year, so please keep an eye on the following link to see what I put up for auction soon. (Ironically, earlier this year I joked that I was selling off my artwork to pay my mortgage. Guess I shouldn't have tempted fate.)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/graphite47/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 

Trying to end on a positive note, I'm pleased that Rasher will be continuing in The Beano for at least the next few weeks, and the next few days will be busy as I have three Smasher pages to draw for The Dandy Annual 2014 (out next summer). I also have a couple of bits and bobs coming up in BeanoMax soon, and hopefully I'll be drawing a few more pages for Viz next year too. 

I should also mention that I'm on the guest list for the Bristol Comic Expo (11th-12th May 2013) so all being well I'll see you there!  

Final 'Thor', SMASH! 8/3/1969

My apologies if this post has been quite bleak. I hope it doesn't come across as a pathetic attempt of sympathy-seeking as that's not my intention at all. Many people are having a rough time with the economy being as it is right now and I'm not suggesting I should be exempt from that. I just thought I'd be open with you all as you've been a good crowd supporting this blog and you deserve to know the full story, rather than a flippant 'Taking a break' post. 

Anyway, there's just over 1,000 posts on this blog (with this one being No.1,003) so some of you who have discovered Blimey! in recent years may not have seen all of it. If you enter a keyword (such as Ken Reid or Eagle for example) into the search window at the top of the right hand side of this post you'll hopefully find something you're interested in that you haven't read before.   

The New Year dawns tomorrow so I hope it's a prosperous one for all of us. Thanks for following this blog over the years and may 2013 bring all of us good fortune, good health, and happiness.   

Final 'The Umbrella Men', DANDY 13/8/1966